Josh Walsh

Try as I might, I will never be able to bring myself to use this word to mean “to tell a story” or “to make a confession.”

Thank you for sharing that sad account of your most embarrassing moment.

In my view, the object of the verb should be a real or abstract commodity, not a narrative.

The king was deposed because he refused to share his wealth and power.

Perhaps it’s because, in the more old-fashioned usage, sharing (and, by extension, whatever was being shared) was an inarguably good thing.

Children should be taught to share their toys.

But being invited to share our personal history can feel like an invasion of privacy, and when someone else shares in that way, it’s possible that the process can turn out to be a burden or an imposition, rather than a desirable act of unselfishness and generosity.