I’m not sure how men thought women were supposed to react to pain because our tears seemed to send them into panic or rage. We would have been better as sponges . . . absorbent and full of holes. “You’re too sensitive,” my father said when I was younger. “Lighten up,” my younger brother added, quick to support my father. “Why don’t you try cross-stitch? It’ll relax you,” my mom once offered in a meek and deadpan voice.
