I remember the first time my dad was proud of me. I remember everything that came after.
*This is a work of memoir. It reflects the author’s recollections of lived experience over time. Some names and identifying details may have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals. Dialogue has been reconstructed from memory and is not intended as verbatim transcription. The experiences described are the author’s own, told in good faith and without intent to harm. Memoir, by its nature, is one person’s truth — rendered as honestly and carefully as memory allows.
I remember the first time my dad was proud of me. I’d written a poem for school. It was 4th grade, and the poem was about family. “She’s going to be a writer, someday,” he’d tell people
