Sometimes bad boundaries can disguise themselves as compassion. I didn’t realize this until eight or nine years into therapy. I always thought I opened my arms for anyone and everyone who needed help because of my years training to be a nun, as my responsibility to “let peace begin with me,” the final refrain to...

When I was 11, I auditioned for a ballet school. Miss Jo, the founder of the program, and of The Dayton Ballet Company, came to the auditions and sat next to my mom. “Your daughter has beautifully arched feet,” she told my mom. “Although we wish all dancers had high arches, it will make it...