Down the Drain

Content Warning: This section of the guide details substance use, heavy alcohol consumption, physical and emotional abuse, domestic and intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and death by suicide.

In 1996, six-year-old Julia Fox moves from Italy, where she was born, to New York City to live with her dad, Tom Fox. The city overwhelms and excites her. She’s visited before, but it feels new to her this time. They take a taxi from the airport to Tom’s apartment, where Tom gives Julia a tour. The building seems enormous, and she’s delighted to have her own bedroom.

In Italy, Julia often lived with Grandpa, her maternal grandfather. At Grandpa’s, she and her brother, Chris, shared a room, and Julia never had her own space. Her mom was rarely home because she was working and putting herself through school. When Julia was four, the whole family was in New York together. They didn’t have a place to live, for reasons Julia can’t remember. Her mom grew increasingly upset because Tom’s New York life wasn’t the American dream she expected. Tension grew. One night when the family was on Tom’s sailboat, Mom insisted she was leaving, demanding that Tom return her and the kids’ passports.