My Family Laughed at a Cruel Christmas Card About Me So I Left the Country and Let Them Find the Folder

but I also wanted to protect myself from their inevitable attempts to guilt me into returning. The letter went through seven drafts before I was satisfied. Each version revealed something different about my state of mind. Anger, sadness, disappointment, relief.

The final version was calm and factual, laying out the series of events that had led to continue reading …