"I just saw my whole family for Christmas and will see them for a reunion in February. They're all very intense, smart, driven, lucky people-triathletes and marathoners who are surgeons and doctors and who believe that you can achieve anything if you work hard enough, both career- and body-wise. They're anti "artificial" beauty and also kind of shrug off any illness or disability they can't see with the naked eye."
"I have clinically diagnosed insomnia, and maybe other issues. I opt out of some activities when we visit because I'm exhausted, and my husband and I always stay in a hotel. At 29, I'm constantly fighting the ways insomnia impacts my energy levels, personally and professionally. My parents never took my sleep issues seriously as a teen, and they've begrudgingly accepted them in my adulthood."
"I know sleeplessness also impacts my appearance. This year, I decided I would control that if I couldn't control anything else. I got religious with my dermatologist's suggestions, and with Botox and laser. From the outside, I do look brighter and more awake. My husband says I look more like myself, and I'm pretty sure "looking more awake and focused" played a part in my recent promotion."
Family members are intense, high-achieving athletes and medical professionals who value hard work and deride artificial beauty, dismissing invisible illness. The narrator has clinically diagnosed insomnia and other possible issues, opts out of activities when exhausted, and stays in hotels during visits. Cosmetic treatments like Botox and laser have improved outward appearance, and looking more awake likely aided a recent promotion. Despite external improvements, severe sleep problems led to a near-suicide attempt earlier in the year. Family members equate good appearance with health, pressure the narrator into draining activities, and cast judgment as laziness. The narrator seeks strategies to reset boundaries without hostile confrontation.
Read at Slate Magazine
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