We like to think of growth as a straight line. We imagine that as we spend years working on ourselves, processing past hardships, healing from life's challenges and health issues, learning better boundaries, and quietly building our inner strength, we eventually become somewhat bulletproof. We tell ourselves that the stronger and wiser we become, the less likely we are to be misled. It is a comforting thought. But lately, my evening deep-dives into human behavior have made me

Our parents write the opening chapters. We spend the rest of our lives discovering that we are the author of everything that comes after. I spent the past couple of days with my family. Although I talk to my mother on the phone several times each week, I only see my parents a few times a year because they live more than three hours away. My mother is a remarkably strong and resilient woman. She was 17 when I was born and she went on to graduate from Emory as a registered nurs