Coming of Age and Family Chaos

“Please don’t find my hiding place.”

Nicky Young, remembers an evening when the was eight years old.

What prayers do you remember, if any?

How did you escape? Your friends, family, siblings . . . what role did they play in your survival?

THIS IS NICKY YOUNG’S PRAYER, AND THE OPENING TO A VIOLENT NIGHT IN SHADOW HEART:

I always prayed the same way at night: “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Please bless my mother, father, sister, everyone in the world, and me. And please make my father quit drinking.”