The Sound of Gravel: A Memoir

Ruth dreamed that she and her siblings were in the back of a speeding truck and the Wicked Witch (from The Wizard of Oz) was chasing them. She felt powerless to save her siblings or herself. When she awoke, everything seemed fine, but then Kathy announced that she was going on a road trip with Lane after feeling jealous that she was the only wife who hadn’t done so. She left the children alone with Matt in charge and gave no definite idea of when she would return. Being without parents was fun at first: The kids enjoyed eating what they wanted and staying up late. However, after Matt and Ruth found Luke and Aaron playing with matches under the trailer, they knew they were not equipped to handle the situation. They eventually went to the grocery store to get groceries using food stamps, which Ruth did not realize was an embarrassing experience until she got to the till and heard the way the woman spoke to her.

Shortly after a neighbor called, noticing that the children had been alone for days, two social workers showed up. They inspected the trailer, which was filthy and chaotic, and were even more worried when the children admitted that they had no idea when their mother would be back.