Chapter 6: The Healing Words
The hardest step was admitting they needed professional help. Dr. Evans was a warm, soft-spoken woman whose office smelled like lavender and old paper. While Sarah worked through her crushing guilt and anxiety, Lily attended play therapy. For the first few sessions, Lily just sat in the corner, building impenetrable fortresses out of wooden blocks. But slowly, the walls began to come down. Dr. Evans helped Lily understand that what she did was heroic, but that she could take off her "invisible armor" now. "Your mom is the grown-up," Dr. Evans told her. "It's her job to keep you safe now. You can just be Lily." One afternoon, Lily emerged from her session holding a drawing. It wasn't a fortress. It was a picture of the three of them standing under a massive, brightly colored umbrella, shielding them from a rainstorm.
