Summary

Chapter three opens with an entry from Sue Klebold’s journal from April 21, 1999 that reads, “Yesterday, my life entered the most abhorrent nightmare anyone could possibly imagine. I can’t even write” (32). In the days following Columbine, Sue recalls how she and Tom both held onto an unreality that shielded them from the truth that they had not been ready to face.

Due to Dylan’s involvement, the Klebold’s were unable to undergo normal grieving practices, as they had to remain cut off from their community by remaining in hiding at Don and Ruth’s house. Later, Sue became aware of just how jeopardized their safety had been. She writes, “In the forty-eight-hour period following the shootings, a cluster of family members received more than two thousand phone calls from media and members of the community. Not all were threatening, of course—even...