Within Arm's Reach

Twenty-nine-year-old Gracie Leary shares the story of her grandmother Catharine McLaughlin. Catharine bore many children, including her firstborn daughter, who died from flu-related dehydration at three years old, leaving Gracie’s mother Kelly the oldest living sibling. Catharine took on the responsibilities of the house and made being a mother her focus in life. Gracie then tells the story of Catharine giving birth to her and Patrick’s twin children.

After a grueling labor, Catharine gave birth to the stillborn twins. The usually stoic Catharine wailed in sorrow and the doctor had Patrick take the deceased babies away. He threw the stillborn twins in the outside garbage can. Gracie likes the story of the twins’ birth because it shows her family’s resilience. This inspired her to start writing, with her then-boyfriend Grayson helping her get a job as a writer at The Bergen Record. She says that the McLaughlin family, including her mother Kelly, tends to conceal their feelings and has been getting quieter in conversations as a result.

Gracie notes that she also shares this McLaughlin secrecy despite being a Leary, sharing that she uses her secretive nature to make up things in her flirtations and encounters with men.