I'm breathless after finishing the last episode ! My chest is heavy with the suffering and the exquisite beauty in this finely woven story. I can't say enought about Brian Reed's talent! I was hooked and stymied at every turn of the tale. Sad, real, enlightening, tender, compassionate, revealing, torn, complex, raw, astonishing. All these adjectives and more describe this layered, modern, twisted reality of a small town in America. I can only imagine how many times through this journey Brian had to ask himself, "Why me ?" "Is this assignment a blessing or a curse?" Kudos to you Brian. You did this tale justice. I texted my son, an organic farmer in Santa Cruz to ask him if he has listened to this podcast... His response: "Yes. Twice." Thank you for opening and moving my already tender heart. I feel like I want to sit down and have a much needed cry for all the torment AND the tenderness expressed in this story. This will sit with me for a long long time as a deeply humane story. A story that serves as an example of what judgement, shame, acceptance, tenderness, cruelty, insensitivity, intolerance, impatience, kindness and understanding can do to anyone of us at any time.