not shielded from abuse; it’s also a par-
adigmatic example of the scrutiny that
many survivors undergo, in which, de-
spite the evidence, detractors try at every
turn to prove that the victim “made it
all up.” Maybe one day we will live in
a world in which the stories of victims
are not so strenuously denied.
Adam Fogel
Fairfield, Conn.
1
THE FAVORITEAs a former creative-writing student of
Harry Crews’s, I was thrilled to read
Casey Cep’s article about him (Books,
April 4th). Though many articles have
been written about Harry and his work
over the years, not much has been said
about what an inspirational teacher he
was. I was a disillusioned journalism
major at the University of Florida, search-
ing for a more creative outlet, when I
signed up for Harry’s class, in the spring
of 1970. He proceeded to furnish all the
creativity I could handle! He was big-
ger than life in the classroom—intimi-
dating and impassioned. Harry encour-
aged his students to write what we knew
and, at the same time, not to be afraid
to capture all the weird things that just
rose up out of our imaginations. My fa-
vorite memories are from the period
when he was working on “Car”; he would
set aside time in each class session to
read to us what he had written the week
before, pacing back and forth in front
of the class. Summer break arrived be-
fore he completed the book, so I had to
wait until it was published to read it to
the end. I had several other great pro-
fessors while at Florida, like the pho-
tographer Jerry Uelsmann and the painter
Lennie Kesl, but Harry Crews remains
my favorite mentor.
Kay (Barger) Tull
Louisville, Ky.SUPPORT GROUPS
Rachel Aviv’s careful and insightful piece
about Mackenzie Fierceton points to
an important issue on today’s college
campuses: the phenomenon of bright,
capable students who do not have a sta-
ble parent or guardian figure in their
lives and who assume that, if they have
made it this far, they can also make it
through college (“The Price of Admis-
sion,” April 4th). The fact is, college is
hard even for students with deep fam-
ily support and security, let alone for
those without.
But I see hope in the existence of or-
ganizations devoted specifically to help-
ing students who lack the privilege of
a dependable adult presence. In the Bos-
ton area, for instance, there is the Wily
Network, which was founded, in 2015,
with a mission of providing a “safety
net” for students who must navigate col-
lege independently. Wily offers these
students community and financial as-
sistance, and it connects each of them
with a clinically trained coach—either
a social worker or a trauma-sensitive
mental-health professional—who pro-
vides support. I encourage others who
share my concern for this vulnerable
group to get curious about programs
like Wily, to better the chances that stu-
dents in circumstances similar to Mac-
kenzie’s will thrive.
Annie Montesano
Groton, Mass.
As a psychiatrist, I appreciated Aviv’s
piece, which makes plain how much
still needs to be done in our society to
better support victims of child abuse.
In my work, I have heard countless sto-
ries of abuse perpetrated by the people
closest to the ones being abused. I am
dismayed by how often authority fig-
ures ask that victims “prove” that their
abuse actually happened, especially in
cases, such as Mackenzie’s, that involve
severe injuries. Her story is a powerful
reminder that even children who grow
up in white, upper-middle-class neigh-
borhoods, with parents employed in
professions of high social standing, are
•
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