Back-to-school season can bring excitement, anticipation—and a lot of anxiety. For many children, returning to school or starting a new school year brings a flood of “what if” thoughts: What if I don’t know anyone in my class? What if my teacher is mean? What if I can’t find my classroom? What if the work is too hard? What if I make a mistake? What if something bad happens while I’m at school? For parents, the natural instinct is often to make those worries disappear. We reassure. We explain....

My first memory of bladder pain comes from a summer day camp when I was about five years old. We were making beaded bracelets—beautiful, intricate creations where we strung beads on safety pins and connected them with two long threads. I was nearly finished when the counselor called out that time was almost up. A wave of panic hit me. Suddenly, it felt as though my bladder had a heartbeat. I didn’t fully remember this moment until decades later, during therapy in my twenties. Another memory...

I was driving cross-country and on a stretch of highway, through a town in Nebraska, it smelled so bad, worse than anything I’ve ever...