This is Allison. Andrea definitely didn’t let me get away with writing about my dog for long. She told me to get personal, which to me meant lose the protective layer I’d spent years building. It took the rest of the semester, but on the last class, I read my most personal story—the story about my daughter who died and the pain I was going through. The experience was transforming. I didn't feel judged or pitied, like I thought I’d feel. I felt sad, of course. But by telling my story I was able to move through the sadness, the label of “that woman who lost a child” and forward in my life.