I don't really have anyone else to talk to in this place.
That's what I'm here for.
You ever been scared of dying?
Oh, yeah. My first year here, a man named Warren Sticks, we were in the middle of a session and suddenly he leapt out of his chair and started to choke me. I blacked out, and when I came to I was lying in a pool of blood, his blood. He had slit his wrists with the edge of my tape dispenser. I realized he was attempting to knock me out so he could kill himself.
You remember that sensation, thinking you were gonna die?
Is that how you feel now?
I've felt that way every day since as long as I can remember.
How far back is that?
Much further than I'd like. I was Gerald Robson's only child. Even as a kid, you do what you gotta do to survive, 'cause when you're six, running away is not an option.
Did he beat you?
Oh, yeah. And worse.
Did he abuse you sexually?
It's funny, here I am 36 years old, and I got nowhere to run. You know? And I-I guess what what I want to know is: Is it okay to do whatever is necessary to survive?
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