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

I went to my endocrinologist today, and for reasons I don’t fully understand, every visit with her seems to open a tender place inside me. Maybe it’s because she’s one of the few people who has witnessed the full arc of my medical journey. Maybe it’s because sitting in that exam room reminds me of the truth I rarely give myself permission to say: I have endured a tremendous amount of trauma. On the drive home, I listened to Chapter 8 of Dr. B’s new book, Plant Powered Plus, w