— Josie had experienced many loses, but none as painful as this last one. She was hurting and she felt herself literally shattering. As part of her ongoing therapy, Josie began to reconstruct the story of the most traumatic day of her life, the origin story of her torment: the day she discovered her father had a mistress. ***

These words begin The Mistress, a series of fractured stories put together by a heartbroken and seriously conflicted woman journaling about the origin of her inner torment. In an effort to better understand her pain, she began writing her memories. But soon she realized memories lie. So she started gathering the stories of those who’d witnessed that day and its aftermath, from police reports, court records, articles written.

The Mistress chronicles a tale of betrayal and its repercussions. It’s messy, sometimes contradictory and as chaotic as Josie’s own feelings about it because so much of it reflects the perspective of the witnesses, but it all still leads to the same tragic end.

Meant as a healing tool, it remains incomplete because Josie lost her journal. We may never know the revelations or epiphanies Josie may have gained from the experience, but we can bear witness from a safe distance…