Harvard University

In July of this past summer, I got an unexpected call informing me that my mother was hospitalized after an overdose. I maintained my composure over the phone while receiving the news, but once I hung up my resolve began crumbling. Panicking, I patched the holes that formed in my facade, only allowing myself enough tears for others to think I was reacting appropriately. That day, and nearly every day for a week, I went to the hospital over three hours away to see her. During the long, sweltering drive one of those mornings, there was a period when I passed by miles of black-eyed Susans lining…