In this excerpt from A Complicated Kindness, the narrator reflects on a disturbing yet comforting image of a blood smear on the wall. The sight initially causes discomfort, reminiscent of a dark, disturbing figure like Charles Manson, but it also serves as a reminder of their own physical safety and well-being.
"It bothered me in a kind of Charles Manson way to have a brown smear of blood on my wall but I also liked it because every time I looked at it I was reminded that I was, at that very moment, not bleeding from my face. And those are powerful words of hope, really."