At three years old, Wes Moore is chasing his nine-year-old sister Nikki in the living room. Nikki is fast, and he’s never been able to catch her before. Shocked by catching up to her, he punches her in play as his mother enters the room. Their mother, Joy, screams at him to go to his room. Wes sits in the bedroom he shares with his baby sister, Shani, afraid of the bedroom door opening. He hears his parents talking among each other below, and Wes’s father Westley tells Joy not to yell at Wes because he’s three and won’t understand what she’s talking about.

Their voices fade into the background as Wes looks out the window. There is a photograph of him and Nikki on the dresser. Wes explains he is named after his father, and Nikki is named after their mother. Wes spends all his time with Nikki. He doesn’t understand why he is in trouble or what boundary was broken while playing since he and Nikki have such a close relationship. He reflects, “Years would pass before I understood how that blow connected to my mom’s past” (7). Joy had been in an abusive relationship with Nikki’s biological father, Bill.