Sanctuaries & Torment
There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds.
― Laurell K. Hamilton, Mistral’s Kiss
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We lived in the house of Mill Hill Lane for a year. My mother and Bruce got married in the summer of 1974 and we all moved to the nearby town of Marblehead. It seemed like a big city compared to Chatham, but it was only a little bigger. I began second grade.
I was in and out of the hospital regularly and in public school the rest of the time. I was a profoundly timid child so it took me a long time to get comfortable enough with anyone to trust them. It was hard for me to make friends. I was a smart kid, very adept at school, but I didn’t know how to interact with kids my own age. Being shy and serious, handicapped, plus a good student, meant that I quickly became resented by my classmates. Teachers loved my zest for learning, but my peers only saw someone who didn’t fit the norm.
