I never responded well to micro-management


Have I ever told you I chewed my nails as a kid, Reader? My mom and a nail-chewing friend's mom collaborated to try to break the two of us from this habit. They tried rewards … promising treats if we went a month without chewing our nails. They tried punishment… taking away certain privileges if they caught us biting our nails. They even painted our nails with Thum — a foul-tasting formula from the 70s that is made from cayenne pepper extract and something called denatonium benzoate, designed...