Welcome back to This Person I Met! My name is Kayla, and I’m the host of this podcast.

I could feel Linda’s eyes on me as I packed up my podcast equipment, hurrying to leave the dim-lit room for my next endeavor. At 83-years-old, Linda had been sober for over 40 years after near decades as an active addict, a journey she had shared in her thirty-minute interview in which we discussed God, happiness, and alcohol. Through her smile, she offered one last piece of her wisdom.

“I feel like, in some way, you understand it all a little more than the average person,” she said to me. “You’re a minority. It’s similar to being the child of an addict—we were born with a price to pay.”

As I left, her words still imprinted in my mind, I was firmly reminded that there are no differences that can separate us from wanting to understand each oth ...