NPR

In 'Small Animals,' A Mom Grapples With Parenting In An 'Age Of Fear'

In 2011, Kim Brooks intentionally left her 4-year-old in a car as she ran into a Target. In her new book, she attempts to reckon with the consequences of her decision, and parenting in today's world.
<em>Small Animals</em> by Kim Brooks.

In early Spring of 2011, Kim Brooks intentionally left her 4-year-old son, Felix, in a car alone while she ran into a neighborhood Target — in the same neighborhood she'd grown up in — to buy a pair of padded headphones.

The decision was made in the split of a second, a quick moment that had long-lasting consequences for Brooks, who realized only hours later that a stranger had videotaped her son, then reported her to the

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