The Pale-Faced Lie

by David Crow

It was no surprise that I couldn’t do the work. And my ongoing struggles with dyslexia and ever-worsening eyesight made things even harder. D minuses filled every grading slot. None of the teachers wanted to fail me.

I shuffled from class to class without doing anything while my fellow students matured and worked hard to get good grades. The only kids doing as poorly were the heavy drug users. No one cared about them either. The parents and schools seemed lax to the point of letting the kids raise themselves. Students had access to smoking rooms and could get passes to drive away from school during the day—almost any excuse worked. Many of my peers freely used marijuana. I slid by unnoticed.

You should never respond to unkindness with more of the same. It makes you lesser.

“I’m not sure what to do next.” Though long before, I’d decided whatever I did wouldn’t land me in prison. I couldn’t think of a career

“Be careful whenever everything is given to you,” Mr. Ashcroft said. “Because then you’ll be totally beholden to your masters.”

Then it came to me. The only way to be free was to forgive them—and forgive myself.

It was advice I’d heard plenty of times, but on that day in the hotel, I was ready to do it. In an instant, I stopped expecting

anything from them. Their approval, friendship, understanding, empathy, love. And I stopped believing that Dad, Mom, and Mona were right about me—or any of us. I didn’t want to carry around the burd...

How else could I ever feel any joy ...

It was as if a light went on inside my brain. It had been so simple, something I ...

But no tie is as strong as family, making it the hard...