She clamps around me, squeezing me so that my breath comes short. Pulling tighter, she shapes me so that I’m nearly unrecognizable. She holds me upright, willing me to walk with a dignity I don’t feel. She makes me just like every other woman here.

She is my Iron Maiden.

Rebecca Holcomb is a stay-at-home mom by day and a freelance writer by night. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Central Florida.