Heather Haskins received her MFA in creative nonfiction from Lesley University. This essay is an excerpt from her memoir, Missing Lorraine, her story of navigating the world of domestic violence after her aunt's death. Haskins is currently writing a memoir about training her rescue dog Beckett to become a certified therapy dog. Most recently, her work has appeared in The Albany Times Union, The Forge Journal, The Elephant Journal, and The Feminist Wire.
I guess I was somewhat relieved that my aunt realized she wouldn’t survive another day in her apartment, and I cautiously believed that she did want to live, at least for the next ninety days.