Camille's First Visit

It wasn't my first trip to a prison. My job has taken me to many unusual places to conduct interviews or to gather information for research. Prison isn't even the scariest place I've ever been. This one was different, though. This one held someone who mattered to me. This trip wasn't just part of the job.

When you visit someone in prison, there are rules you must follow. There is always a dress code. The things that you are allowed to carry in with you are severely limited. It can vary from one place to the next, but usually not by much. I followed the rules for the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center to the 'T'. I did not bring my purse or my cell phone. I did not wear an underwire bra because they can set off the metal detectors. The only jewelry I wore was a watch. My pocket contained my driver's license and a roll of quarters for the snack machine.

When I had been properly screened for visitation, I was escorted into a secure visitation room. The difference between 'secure' and 'regular' was a Plexiglas window. Regular visitation took place in a large cafeteria-like space where inmates could hug family members and hold their children in their laps. SueAnn and I would sit opposite one another in small booths and talk through a round vent in the Plexiglas. Somehow that Plexiglas really reinforced just how bad things had gotten for her. It made my stomach hurt.

Camille Remembers: Todd

It was the summer after sixth grade. We were twelve that year. SueAnn’s mother had come back just before the end of the school year. She was gone a lot back then. Everyone was always very quiet about it. Our grandmother (we called her Ninny) would say, “Paula’s out of town again.” I never heard anyone ask where or why. When I was very young, it sounded work-related and I didn’t question it. As I got older, I began to realize that she never kept a job for long and I doubted that her trips had anything to do with work. She was usually gone for a few weeks. Then she would be home for a long time. Then she would leave again. Every time Aunt Paula left, SueAnn would have to stay with Ninny and Poppa until she came home.

My mother was very protective so my sister and I were a bit more sheltered than most kids our age. That’s probably why I never really clued in to what was going on. I was in college before I really understood. I’m not sure if my sister ever knew either. It’s strange how no one ever talked about it. Aunt Paula came and went throughout my childhood and I never even questioned it. Not really. It was the norm and I was accustomed to it.

At any rate, she was home that summer. This time she came back with a new boyfriend. Like her frequent trips, new boyfriends were a constant for Aunt Paula. She and SueAnn’s father divorced when SueAnn was just a baby and she never remarried. It wasn’t for lack of trying, though. Every new boyfriend was potential husband material. Unfortunately for her, they didn’t usually share that point of view. A few of them went so far as to get engaged, but none of them ever followed through with it. There was always some big, dramatic breakup. Then Aunt Paula would play her Patsy Cline albums and drink too much. Sometimes, when it was really bad, Ninny would come and get SueAnn for a couple of days. After a few days of tear-jerkers and hard liquor everything would seem normal and fine. (As if anything was never ‘normal’ or ‘fine’ with our family. We just didn’t know any better.)

Most of Aunt Paula’s boyfriends were local. Sometimes we would run into her exes at the store or the post office (I was even able to remember most of their names). The new boyfriend that summer came from someplace else, though. He came back with Aunt Paula – from wherever she had been. His name was Todd. He seemed nice enough. Then again, they all seemed nice enough. I never invested a lot of time in getting to know them. I guess I thought it would be a waste of time getting to know someone who was going to leave in a couple of months.

Todd moved in with Aunt Paula and SueAnn. Ninny disapproved of that from the start. The truth was that Aunt Paula always had boyfriends in her house. I guess Ninny just pretended not to know. Todd was different because he wasn’t local. She couldn’t pretend that he went home at the end of the day.

Broken - The Basic Story

SueAnn Saxton is on death row in Oklahoma. She has been estranged from her family for several years now. When her cousin Camille finds out that she is on death row, she decides to visit. Camille and SueAnn were very close when they were young. Camille has known for years that SueAnn's life was kind of 'off the rails' but she has always kept her distance. Until now. When Camille learns of the death sentence, she knows that she needs to see SueAnn. In her mind, she's going to say goodbye. In her heart, she's devastated at the thought of losing someone who once meant so much to her.


The story opens during Camille's first visit to Oklahoma's death row. Their time together is awkward - chatting, small talk, etc. So many things have happened over the years that it's hard for them to know where to start. Through their visits, and Camille's memories, we learn both of their stories - difficult childhoods, family relationships, the paths they chose as adults.

Broken is a story about family, forgiveness, acceptance and what you do when there's nothing that you can do.