The room ached with silence.

We stared at each other — three sisters as close as any — but there was a gulf of pain so wide between us, we almost felt like strangers.

As Etty turned away from us, I had a terrible premonition. I sensed this wasn’t over. I sensed that the gulf between us would only grow wider — so wide it would swallow us whole.

*******

Ever since their mother passed away, Bubby Koenig has been the rock for sisters Etty, Miri and Chevy. But when Bubby suffers a stroke, the lion’s share of her care falls on the sisters’ young shoulders – especially Miri’s. Struggling to be present for her husband, children, father, sisters and grandmother, Miri is stretched to the limit and tension begins to fester… until it threatens to destroy everything.

Can the sisters’ deep bond survive – even thrive – in their new reality?

Homebound: A true account of life, love and the eternal bonds of family. Serialized in The Voice of Lakewood

As told to Tzippy Kestenbaum.