Madge McKeithen is a credible author due to being a teacher turned writer who has been published in many different literary outlets. In What Really Happened, McKeithen tries to teach readers how to get the closure and acceptance that they need in order to move on with their lives after tragedy has struck. She accomplishes this by writing in the mindset of a woman who is in great emotional turmoil. Twelve years previously, a woman was murdered by her husband, and her kids were sent to live with the wife’s mother. The husband was sent to jail for life and without parole. Twelve years later, a friend of the woman has not gotten over what has happened and does not comprehend why such a situation had to occur. Therefore, she goes to visit her friend’s murderer in jail in order to get closure for both herself and for her friend. McKeithen wrote, “Hear You are there for her . . . to see, ask, hear . . . because she isn’t” (139). The in media res approach allows the readers to guess the circumstances as to why the protagonist is visiting a prison and emphasize with her pain as the details, as well as her nostalgia, come into focus. The woman is so lost and confused that she calls other friends who knew the deceased one in order to recall memories, looks at old pictures, learns about her friend’s kids, and even calls the mother of her dead friend. After visiting the husband in jail, the woman does not get her catharsis. Even though she gets the husband answers her questions, she still does not have a full understanding of why it had to happen because his logic does not make sense to her. However, she finally gets her closure after meeting one of the sons of her friend at a wedding and hearing from him how he has lived a happy life. It is there that she hears from her deceased friend to“love life” (140). Finally, she gets her closure and is able to move on.
Another Man Who Killed His Wife Without Remorse
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