Late July, I got an email from a producer for a regional radio show. They wanted to talk about “financial elder daughters”—women who become family safety nets so early they think rope is a compliment. I said yes on one condition: no names, no pictures. “We like pictures,” she said. “I like privacy,” I said. She laughed. “Touché.” On air, I told the story cleaned of details but not of truth. The host asked if I regretted anything. “Yes,” I said. “I regret not learning earlier that resentment is just your soul’s overdraft fee.”
Calls poured in after, women crying in their cars outside their parents’ houses, two brothers asking if we had a workshop for sons who were tired of being called selfish for paying their own rent. We do now. Janelle created it the next week and titled it “Sons Without Leashes.” Janelle is a genius.