I thought being a thief would be exhilarating. I am with my brother and mother in the breezy, dark night waiting for the town to still. We stay just outside of town watching but not daring to make ourselves seen by anyone in town...

My mother and I went into town the next day leaving Mary with the others to protect what remained of our belongings. The little town of Centreville looked different in the daylight...

I make the fourth generation to live on this farm in western Kansas. After my great-grandmother Esther escaped from an asylum in London to live in Ireland with my grandmother Ruth, Esther was sure they had conquered the hard part of their lives, but unfortunately she was wrong. The Irish Famine pushed them to take an even larger chance, and they once again uprooted their lives and immigrated to the eastern coast of America. After surviving all that hardship...

It has been two weeks since I escaped. I haven’t seen or heard anything about it. I suppose the asylum does not want the news to spread. This has played in my favor. I have waited, impatiently so...

With my wits back, I watch and listen to what is going on here. It was never brought to my attention how asylums were run. It is a dark spot...