A Letter to the Parent Who Was Spanked

There’s something profoundly confusing about being hurt by the same hands that tuck you in at night. Scared of the voice that also says, “I love you.” Unsure if you want to get a hug from them or run as far away from them as you can. If you were spanked as a kid, you may have learned something foundational, way before you had words for it: Love and pain can come from the same place.