Last week, Hillary Clinton became the first woman nominee for President of a major political party and I had a miscarriage. These things have absolutely nothing to do with the other, and yet I can’t help think about the connections they raise in my life and the lives of so many women.

I’ve always tried to be the operative who stays behind the spotlight — so telling this story doesn’t come easily or naturally. Why now? I guess the answer is pretty simple.

I’m telling you this because one of the things that helped me through this ordeal was hearing about other women’s stories like mine and the choices they made.

The other reason I’m telling you this is because my story, just like yours, is deeply connected to this presidential contest. It is not the abstract of policy but the truth of our own unique experiences, hardships, and choices that will be impacted by who wins in November. Whether we are talking about banning assault weapons to prevent another act of terror and hate, like the devastation we are seeing in Orlando, or we are protecting reproductive freedom for women to make their own decisions about their own bodies. We are on a dangerous precipice with Donald Trump as the Republican nominee and we all have to do something about it.