PRESTON COUNTY, WV—Since I last blogged, my world has changed beyond recognition. If you recall, my niece had just given birth on Dec. 27, 2019, to a beautiful baby girl. Then my mother suddenly died on New Year’s Day. Eight days later, I became homeless. Two days later, I attended Read more…
MORGANTOWN, WV—It’s at times like these that I think of Anthony Shadid. The Pulitzer Prize winning journalist died in 2012 from asthma, while on assignment in Syria. He was just 43. He was also extremely allergic to horses. Sadly, Shadid was walking behind a horse as he and another New Read more…
I’ve been away since last Wednesday, and I’m kicking myself for not writing this sooner. Just because I didn’t, though, does not mean that today’s date–the two-year anniversary of Skylar Neese’s disappearance–has not loomed large on my mind. How could it not, given that the book about her murder comes Read more…
In less than a year, I wrote two books. In the midst of that, my sister died, my husband contracted a bone infection, and another loved one had a meltdown of sorts. Then, after meeting an extremely stressful deadline, I found I couldn’t write. It’s been a month now and Read more…
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…
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…
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…