11K views · 157 reactions | TRAFFIC ALERT: Interstate 81 North is backed up for miles approaching the Pittston exit. And PennDOT says there will be road work on 81 North between Wilkes-Barre and Scranton on and off through Thursday. | Jon Meyer WNEP | Facebook

On a family road trip, my parents pulled over and said, “Get out—we can’t afford to feed you this week.” I smiled, stepped out, and held up my phone. I’d been recording everything for child services. An hour later, the police arrived… and my parents never saw what was coming next. I remember the heat first. The kind that seeped into your bones, making the air shimmer just above the pavement. That was the Arizona sun in late July, and there I was, 16 years old, standing on the side of Interstate