After the Unspeakable

When the author's girlfriend was raped on the street by a stranger in Chicago, he devoted himself to helping her recover. Too late, he learned that her private struggles exceeded the limits of love – and even language itself. In this fiercely compassionate essay about trauma and betrayal, he explores the toll that indescribable ordeals take on their victims and those who love them, and the bittersweet gift of transcendence that comes with time and resilience.