This story came to me first as an essay, about how often I see women I admire attacked for what I consider to be their gifts: their voices, their leadership, their talents, their confidence. The more beloved the woman, the swifter and harsher the takedown is when it inevitably comes. I don’t have any daughters, but it made me think about what I’d wish for them if I did. As happens to me so often, I found it easier to talk about this truth by tucking it into a piece of fiction.
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