But if media reports were true -- festering corpses, raging violence, filth, and no food or water -- Askew feared her son didn't stand a chance.

CNN: A momma's love

It was impossible to capture an image of me where I wasn't wracked by self-consciousness, my features askew.

WSJ: Social-Media Face-Off

Sigismund Blondy had known Alan Zwelish for several years, in the way of a Manhattan neighbor, repeatedly sighting a compelling face in passing instants as one or the other swerved from the street into the entrances of their buildings, which stood across and askew from each other, or in the same Chase A.T.

NEWYORKER: Lucky Alan