There was no creative announcement or heartwarming video the day Walter Blissit heard the news that his wife Roxanne was pregnant. He was newly incarcerated. Walter and Roxanne didn’t know what parenting while separated would look like—but they were determined to make it work.
For Roxanne, new motherhood felt like drowning.
“It was a blur,” she says. “It’s the feeling of when a wave comes, and you’re struggling … you’re trying to breathe. And then when you breathe, then another big wave comes, but you’re too into it to know that you’re drowning.”
The responsibilities of solo motherhood overwhelmed her, but Roxanne persevered. She took their daughter Zoey to visit Walter as much as she could. They talked on the phone, too. Roxanne was determined that Zoey would have a good relationship with her father.
