Summary

Chapter 13 opens with Sue expressing the difficulty she had in writing the following chapter. Here, she openly admits, “The signs that Dylan was struggling were not overt or glaring, but we observed them—and misinterpreted them” (174). Sue cites numerous studies that further underscore the prevalence of brain health issues in teens and how frequently it goes unrecognized. Even though Tom and Sue had been aware that Dylan had been going through a rough patch, Tom’s health issues and financial concerns consumed them so that they had been unable to see Dylan’s pain. They had believed that Dylan had put himself back on track after getting into trouble his junior year.

In October 1997, Dylan had been suspended from school after he and his friend Zack had discovered a list of locker combinations while helping to maintain the Columbine High School computer system. The...