Lived Through This

Things I Learned Getting Punched in the Face

And why it took me so long to stop

Photo: Sam Geballe

I was 29 years old — old enough to know better — and I stood in the blue corner of the ring with my heart pounding and my gloves taped to my wrists. My headgear muffled the voice of my coach and the shouting crowd, though I couldn’t have heard anything over my own heartbeat…