I am an oversharer. It feels totally natural to me to share deeply personal details and self-reflections with store checkout clerks, Uber drivers, and nearly everyone else I randomly encounter.

When I left my marriage, I thought I knew exactly what I wanted to find in a man. My analytical mind had been assessing what I could bring to a romantic partner and what I wanted from them through nearly every moment of my 20-year relationship. Yet, as I dip my toes into the dating pool, I’m learning that I actually like some of the things I thought I disliked, and vice versa.

The ties that bind between parent and child are always complicated, often wondrous, and—as Sheila discovers—somewhat inexplicable.