I’ve had conversations with my mom about this time—and what it took, many years later, for her to develop a different, far less militaristic attitude toward work. It wasn’t her fault I reacted to our family’s economic anxiety in a way that would harden my resolve to avoid a similar situation in my own life. For example, I would not, and have still not, put myself in a situation where my career and financial well-being could be jeopardized through a breakup.
