Many of us have been told, “don’t speak ill of the dead.” But what happens when someone who caused trauma dies? The notion that the deceased should be exempt from criticism simply because they’ve passed on is tiresome and in desperate need of revision. For survivors of abuse, their abuser’s death might be their first opportunity to safely share their stories. Thankfully, our cultural mythologies about the everlasting love of families — and especially mothers — are finally beginning to be