From The Atlantic:

I got out my mother’s gun, took a deep breath, and started to run through different scenarios. If the intruder was armed, I might have to shoot him. I would have to live knowing that I had killed a man—justifiably, according to the law—but I’d spend the rest of my life wondering if there had been other options. There was a more practical issue: I am a good shot, but I’m no professional—how would I perform in a high-stress situation against someone who may do this for a living?