I can’t say how many expressions passed across Shelia Eddy’s face from the time she walked into Judge Russell Clawges’ courtroom until she took her seat and began sobbing, but I can tell you she’s one of the most difficult people to read I’ve ever seen during the 25 years Read more…
My sister Lisa died of a broken heart. She never got over losing our father—or feeling like she couldn’t measure up. I’m afraid we—her family—didn’t make it any easier for her. Many of us judged her, when we had no right. Especially when we didn’t even try to help her. Read more…
Three days from now, many of you will sit at a kitchen table enjoying fellowship and food. Or you will gather around a Christmas tree shredding wrapping paper, hoping to see what gifts await. But somewhere, the stress will be too much, and a weapon will be pulled out–one man’s Read more…
December 14 has held personal significance for several years, but last year that date became connected with a horrific crime none of us can understand. Even if you’ve fought and won the battle of mental illness, as I did after being hospitalized for depression in 1991, last year’s Sandy Hook Read more…
One of the best rewards for writing—since it’s rarely the money—are the letters and emails I receive, like the following. Each one always contains some nugget of wisdom, and this one—from a Southern belle of just 76—contains many. It reminds us that for most women, life today is much better Read more…
Many years ago as a young news reporter, I learned what happens when a government agency attempts to violate their employees’ right to free speech. They live to regret it. Almost without exception, it pays to be painfully honest when faced with a sensitive situation—such as the death of a Read more…
No one saw a single smile from Shelia Eddy in court today. What we did see was a bespectacled teenager wearing an updo who looked much younger than when she last appeared in court. My own guess is that Eddy, who turned 18 on Sept. 28, got a quick lesson Read more…
The contrast between defense attorney and client couldn’t have been more stark: His voice boomed. It was by far the loudest in the courtroom. Distinct and certain, everyone seated inside the wood-paneled room could hear him without the need to lean forward, fearful of missing a single syllable. Hers was Read more…
A walk near dusk in my nearly deserted neighborhood reinforced why I choose to live here: a mailbox with the hand-painted words “Mountaineer fans live here”; a set of clay hands, cast in a gesture of prayer; a lawn mover left unattended on a well-manicured lawn; a few friendly people Read more…
The most difficult part of covering the Skylar Neese story is deciding which hat to wear: journalist or author. But that’s nothing compared to the challenge of being Skylar’s parents, on days like this one. Yesterday I tweeted that “she who has been named” had finally, after months of silence Read more…