Tiny Stories
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You Are Not Broken
One young Kansas girl is living with a long history of physical, emotional, and repeated sexual abuse. She’s fighting addiction. She has a mother who sacrificed her body for financial purposes. She…
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Be That New Face
You are 15 years old. Your mother, deep in drug debt, sends you to give a strange man $10. But somehow you know he expects more – your body. The world judges you as reckless, promiscuous, and…
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It's Never Too Late
I proceeded to the treatment facility to check on K.C., a dropout known as the “best drug dealer” in town. He was picked up for distribution and placed within the facility. The first few months were…
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The Smallest Thing
An alternative school student refused to go into the classroom and was “acting orally aggressive towards the teacher.” As I approached the student, he said quietly, “My mom locked me out of the…
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A Happy Accident
Ending a long road trip, the OTOK team made a last stop in Hays. With late nights and early mornings, we caught a break and dropped into a coffee shop. We definitely needed the caffeine, and we…
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Jason's Web
Those of us who interview kids in prison are blessed, and plagued, with their memories. Jason was one. At 15, he was incarcerated and had been in the “system” since age five, suggesting residential…
