Once my book was published, the question I was most often asked was, "How does it feel to have your story out there?"

My response: "Naked, vulnerable."

In all honesty, it was almost unsettling at first to have people around me know so much more about me than I knew about them. I would look at people who I knew had read the book and think, "Wow, now you know these intimate details of my life."

In those first few days of people telling me they had read my book, I was almost awkward around them. I didn't know how to act. I wondered what they were thinking about me, and about Ryan, now that they knew so much more of our story.

But my fears and self-consciousness were unfounded. People have been more than gracious with being let in on what were painful growth experiences for me. More than that, they've been able to connect with the vulnerability that I've put on full display.

There may come a time when my nakedness leaves me open to attacks, but even then, I will have to let that go. When someone else decides to be naked and vulnerable like I have, then we can talk.