

The prodigal journey may seem like a lonely road traveled by a solitary wayward son, but it rarely is. There are those who love him who are invariably swept along in the wake of his wandering. Parents, of course, bear the agony of doubt and the despair of helplessness. But there are the brothers and sisters who also bear a burden—collateral damage. They, too, suffer the disappointments. They are the quietly turning wheels that need no grease. (From Chapter 8 of The Butterfly and the Stone – “Uniqueness.”)