This is the Freakonomics commentary on the article (by way of which I found the article in the first place): http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/wh

This is the Freakonomics commentary on the article (by way of which I found the article in the first place): http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/what-does-this-sad-story-say-to-you/ http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/04/what-does-t... Reading the comments on the Freakonomics page, some of which really are harsh, makes me wonder about the family's motivations for allowing a reporter to probe into fairly personal details of their lives- and write about it in a national newspaper. The article doesn't portray them in a particularly positive light. Maybe they just figure it's a chance for a little bit of fame and attention, but it still seems like a brave thing to do.