In my entire life, I’d never felt anything like this. The pain in my stomach was excruciating. It felt like a mixture of period cramps and what I assumed contractions felt like.

It twisted and turned my insides with a viselike grip. Then the hunger…I couldn’t explain it.

I felt so hungry. You know that expression, I could eat a horse? I literally, could have eaten a horse. I scooted my chair underneath the dining room table with the rest of the pack.

Dad sat across ...