She felt everything too deeply, it was like the world was too much for her.

Imagine if you succeeded in making the world perfect for your children what a shock the rest of life would be for them.

It's not only children who grow. Parents do too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can't tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it, myself.

To share our stories is not only a worthwhile endeavor for the storyteller, but for those who hear our stories and feel less alone because of it.

For 25 years, I did take my responsibilities as a pleaser of others sufficiently seriously.

If I told you about all the stories I don't tell, I would be violating the very boundaries I set for myself.

When I was 12 years old, I read Nancy Drew mysteries and biographies of Madame Curie and Florence Nightingale and books about girls who love horses or go to nursing school. I belonged to the Girl Scouts and got A's in school and rarely disobeyed my parents. I still kept a collection of Barbie dolls in my room, and I almost never spoke to boys.