Valerie screamed so loud she thought her throat would bleed. She had no time to process what had happened, had no way of knowing if her husband and son were even alive, and no way to get back to them. She collapsed onto the asphalt and sat there. Mulling over multiple what-ifs. She was stuck. She finally considered going to her father for help.

“Dammit,” she said, unable to think of any other way around it.

Valerie’s childhood was one of extreme structure. Her father gave h...