Content Warning: This section and the source material deals closely with the theme of trauma. Both reference child abuse, substance misuse, verbal and physical abuse, sexual assault including rape, suicide, and suicide ideation.

The narrator introduces her first patient as she begins work as a therapist. Laura Wilkes has been referred to therapy by a general practitioner who has been treating her for recurrent herpes outbreaks. The herpes has not been successfully managed through medical help and the GP thinks that acute stress is causing the flare ups. Laura contracted the herpes from her boyfriend Ed, who did not disclose his diagnosis to Laura and lied about it. Laura is angry with Ed, but Gildiner notes that she has not dealt with the situation or her feelings. Expressing resistance to therapy, Laura does concede that her outbreaks may be triggered by stress, but she is unwilling to delve into her past history and resists sharing many personal details.

By her second session, Laura has read several books on stress and made a chart detailing the sources of stress in her life. One she terms “dealing with assholes” (9) includes her father. Gildiner asks Laura to speak of her early memories of her parents and learns that Laura’s mother passed away unexpectedly when Laura was young of a cause never revealed to Laura.