Letters to Corey

Can a mother’s love for her child transcend the constraints of society?

Letters to Corey is the narrative of Risa Shapiro’s journey-to-self through the death of her son from HIV. Her seemingly perfect life as wife, mother, and community figure, fractures from deeply fostered secrets, lies, and misconceptions. It is the early 1980’s in the wealthy up-country community of Manchester, Massachusetts, where aberrant behavior does not exist–and if it does, it is quickly ushered into silence. When Risa finds her son in the woods behind their house with another boy the summer before he is to attend New York University, she flounders on unfamiliar territory, keeping this information from her husband, family, and friends. She reluctantly seeks the help of a therapist–something she never thought she would have to do in her lifetime–and when her son is diagnosed with the ‘gay plague’ a year later, her world spins out of control.

Journal Entry

It’s three AM and I can’t sleep. So much I need to explain. Things you cannot imagine. Things that would never fit into your world of perfection. This place with all its constant lights and noise, where the night hides lust in the shadows. How do I explain all this when I am lost at sea without a beacon to guide me home? But you. You are strong! You will find your way home.

I am so sorry.

Please forgive me.

I love you

C-