Virginia, like most states, has few guidelines about how closely parents are expected to supervise their children. As a result, I was charged not with leaving my son in the car, but with the misdemeanor of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

We now live in a country where it is seen as abnormal, or even criminal, to allow children to be away from direct adult supervision, even for a second.

This is what shame does to women: It isolates us and makes us feel our stories aren't really stories at all but idiosyncratic flaws.

Kim Brooks Quotes