Unfortunately, the fight-or-flight response is a destructive constant companion. As Dr. Nadine Burke Harris put it, the response is great “if you’re … - JD Vance

When Mamaw picked me up from school, I’d ask her not to get out of the car lest my friends see her — wearing her uniform of baggy jeans and a men’s T-shirt — with a giant menthol cigarette hanging from her lip. When people asked, I lied and told them that I lived with my mom, that she and I took care of my ailing grandmother. Even today, I still regret that far too many high school friends and acquaintances never knew Mamaw was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Nothing compares to the fear that you’re becoming the monster in your closet. During

what I remember most of all is that I was happy — I no longer feared the school bell at the end of the day, I knew where I’d be living the next month, and no one’s romantic decisions affected my life. And out of that happiness came so many of the opportunities I’ve had for the past twelve years.