By Erin Alexander . I met “Mara and Alex” on a rainy Tuesday. They arrived together, coats still damp, sitting not quite touching. When I asked what brought them in, Mara exhaled like she had been holding her breath for months.“He means well,” she said, “but he is in everything. My texts. My calendar. My head.”Alex stared at the rug. “If I do not ask, I feel shut out. If I ask, I feel needy.” Most couples do not come in because of grand betrayals. They come because of a thousand tiny...

By Erin Alexander I remember one couple vividly. Let’s call them Jess and Tyler, mostly because those aren’t their real names, and partly because they remind me of characters from some cheesy Netflix rom-com. Tyler, with his military crew cut and a look that screamed, "I could survive two weeks in the woods with nothing but duct tape," and Jess, who radiated a chill yet slightly anxious energy of someone perpetually checking to see if they left the oven on. They came into my office looking...

" Pretty ." It’s a word that has followed me my entire life. I’ve heard it whispered by relatives, offered up by friends, and declared by strangers. And for as long as I can remember, it has landed on me with a thud—a label that never quite fit, a costume I couldn't wait to take off. The discomfort was never about vanity. It was about a fundamental disconnect. Because the woman I’ve always known myself to be is something else entirely: she’s pensive and open-minded. She's grounded yet...