I was 22 and unraveling in ways I could not yet comprehend when I first met Pat Mahoney. He wasn’t famous or a sought-after expert. Google him today, and you’ll find a dated WebMD profile with no reviews, no photo, just a generic silhouette of a man with a stethoscope. But to me—and to countless others—Pat showed us the way back to ourselves.

Culturally, I’ll always be Jewish. My anxiety a daily reminder, though well worth the rights to the jokes. Culturally, I’m also White. I’m first generation White. I’m the first in my family to walk around thinking that I’m White before thinking I’m Jewish. My mother was denied jobs because of her last name. That’s not been my story.

I go for a run,

Watching the sun set into the forest

And the fallen leaves swirl on the road.

I think of friends of color,

Afraid to walk these streets

In a town that voted for Trump.