08/05/2026
I have been riveted by the Lindsay Clancy trial. I keep seeing it from the perspective of two of cups (reversed in this case, obviously). Cups are about emotional capacity, not just romantic love as they are often depicted. Ideally the two is a card of encounter, one that reflects the hope that whatever one human is sharing with another, it will be met with love, openness, understanding. It can represent harmony within oneself or another person/people/the larger world. There is risk involved, of course with vulnerability—the chance that what is shared will be rejected, ignored, misunderstood. I see so much of that in the trial and I know many mothers are seeing it too.
She shared her struggles, her intrusive thoughts, her need for help. She kept notes, journals, and told the people who were supposed to care for her that she was not ok (even as she, by all accounts, did most of the parenting). She did what new, overwhelmed moms are supposed to do, and somehow she and her kids were failed by her care team, including her husband. Instead of communion or real care, there was death, paralysis, divorce, lawsuits, and now a trial.
It has been interesting and hopeful to see other women share about similar experiences and hear about what kept them from having such an awful outcome. Most times, it took just one person, not even always a healthcare professional, to help in a meaningful way: to listen deeply, to have the capacity, maturity, time, love, presence to really pay attention to what was happening right in front of their eyes. To not look away, to accept the hard truth of the situation. I see in the trial and in this card the invitation to pay close attention to whatever someone is telling you, even if it is ugly.
