I smile tight. I firmly believe I shouldn’t judge another person’s pain or pain tolerance because I don’t want to diminish anyone’s plight. It’s all valid. But sometimes, I wish that in validating other people’s pain, I didn’t feel like I was diminishing my own. I understand sciatic pain is something that pregnant people experience. I understand it’s incredibly painful. I even understand that my pain cannot eradicate theirs; they both exist. But when Clare says she knows exactly how I feel, I can’t help but get the sense that it’s misplaced empathy. People don’t have to connect or commiserate
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