When my dad passed on in 2005, I was given an inheritance with strings attached. Two family members were in charge of the money, and I was allowed to spend it only with their approval. There were also conditions that I had to fulfill in order to start getting payouts, which were mostly paid directly to vendors, with very little given directly to me.

One condition was that I must get a full-time job that I could verify with pay stubs. For years, I had mostly freelanced, and too often had lacked funds and asked Dad to help. The other condition was that I must see a psychiatrist and be put on psychiatric medication.

I didn’t grow up in a family of Christian Scientists, but my dad knew I had become a student of Christian Science, which he respected. And although he had passed on, I knew he would have supported my reliance on Christian Science for healing. But I wasn’t strong and went along with my relatives’ insistence on fulfilling the conditions. I secured a full-time job and began taking the medication.