My daughter-in-law always hid her hands and back—until a beach trip revealed the truth she had been carrying all along.

sleeves.

Not every week, not all at once, but sometimes.

Enough to tell me she was deciding for herself how visible she wanted to be.

That was the lesson, I think.

Not that I finally learned her secret.

But that I had no right to it until she chose to share it.

I spent two years looking at my daughter-in-law and imagining darkness.continue reading …