From the moment we hugged hello, I knew something was off. There was a sadness in his eyes despite his smile and he seemed edgy. I figured out what was wrong quickly and felt like a failure of a big sister.

I grew up attending catholic schools from first grade up through my freshman year of college. I wish I could say there were more positive memories regarding my catholic upbringing than there actually were, and that the nuns who taught me for the better part of twelve years were kind and nurturing…but I cannot. There was one nun, however, that I will never forget.

It happened over thirty years ago while I was staying in a small house in southern Italy that was several hundred years old. The house belonged to my aunt, and I was there with my family to attend a cousin’s wedding. I was sleeping in my tiny basement bedroom one night when a rustling sound woke me.