respect to the more explicit descriptions, there must be something cathartic about getting images like those out of one’s head and down on paper. It’s a coping mechanism, especially in the aftermath of such an immense tragedy. I also wonder if, maybe subconsciously, Ashton hoped that his letter would be passed down over the years—which, in the end, it was—as evidence of how horrific a disaster like this truly can be. Societies are forgetful, and with forgetting comes complacency. Ashton’s recollections are a warning to anyone who might question, at the outset of a potentially similar epidemic,
...more
