Criticism
It isn’t all fan mail for the new celebrity. Jessica also receives angry, hate mail. In these aggressive letters, people accuse her of lying and exaggerating her hero status. This all hit her pretty hard, “I was captured, but then I was OK and I didn’t go down fighting. OK, so what?” She added more about the struggle to be believed, “It was really hard to convince people that I didn’t have to do any of that. That I was injured, that I still needed comfort.” Can you imagine dealing with the aftermath, emotionally and physically, while still trying to clear your name?
Criticism
Coping With Grief
Perhaps, the hardest part was coping with the death of her best friend. Jessica really admired Lori Piestewa. Lori’s death still affects her today, “I still don’t cope well, to this day, with losing Lori. I still don’t understand. Why did they kill her and not me? Why am I here, and not her? The therapist is helping me, telling me to focus on the memories.”
Coping With Grief
