Judy Batalion on blending into the background

Judy Batalion is the author of White Walls, a memoir about the dysfunctional relationships she had with the women in her life while growing up in the suburbs of Montreal. Below, she talks about her experience working at a muffin shop in high school.

• Judy Batalion: How I wrote about my mother's hoarding

I was a muffin server at mmmuffins in the mall right near my home. I was responsible for laying out the muffins, making sure the muffins were labelled correctly and the coffee as well. It was interesting because it was the first time that I noticed that when you're wearing a mmmuffins visor and apron, which was bright blue in the day, people kind of treated me like part of the muffins counter and would have very personal conversations right in front of me. I know about their children, about husbands, about personal matters. It was as if I was just part of the mmmuffins' furnishing.

Judy Batalion's comments have been edited and condensed.