Deborah Copaken

Illustrations by Liana FinckMay 2011“The only thing a uterus is good for after a certain point is causing pain and killing you. Why are we even talking about this?” Nora jams a fork into her chopped chicken salad, the one she insisted I order as well. “If your doctor says it needs to come out, yank it out.” Nora speaks her mind the way others breathe: an involuntary reflex, not a choice.

I was 8 when Patty Hearst was kidnapped. For several years, I was afraid to sit in a well-lit room after sundown, because I was next on the kidnappers’ list, and they were lurking in my backyard. I was sure of this.Was my fear justified? Of course not. Was it real? One hundred percent yes.Bill Clinton pardoned Hearst on his last day in office. When I heard the news, I cheered.