Excerpt From an Interview With the Mother of a 7Year-Old Girl Killed in the Sandy Hook School Massacre:

“The couple then described the moment they saw their daughter’s white coffin at the funeral home. ‘You felt like the floor was falling beneath you,’ Mrs McDonnell said. But the coffin became a canvas when she, Chris, and their surviving son, Jack, took out the Sharpie markers they had brought with them and began drawing all of Grace’s favorite things. ‘By the time we were done,’ Mrs McDonnell said, ‘it was so covered by all the things she loved’ – including ice cream cones, lighthouses, and seagulls. ‘We had peace when we left,’ she said, noting that the coffin was full of colorful drawings and notes from those who knew and loved her best.”