I have always been prone to fearfulness, even as a child. Many times over the years I would wake from a bad dream and lie there, too terrified to go find my parents. I couldn’t trust myself to go back to sleep, for fear of going back into the bad dream again, and so I lay there for what seemed like an eternity.

But then, as I lay there, heart pounding, emotions surging, I would eventually hear the most comforting noise. It was a cluster of noises, actually: water running, dishes clinking, a fami...