“I flagged him down and begged him to get out of the car. He could barely talk. He didn’t make sense. What if he had made it onto the main road? I sat out on the back swing, contemplating what I would say to him. How would I say it? Would I leave? Would he ever change?”
“It’s repeating her worth to her, over and over (and over) again. It’s reassuring her she is capable, even when others diminish her because she’s ‘a girl.’ It’s reminding her that her body is a vessel to be loved, respected, and adored, not abused.”
“I was in tears during every evaluation. ‘How dare she put labels on him!’ I’m not sure if I was ignorant or in denial. Maybe both. I’ve watched his brother surpass him, and it stings.”
“People ask, ‘What did she say?’ My response is usually, ‘I have no idea.’ Her voice whispers in my mind: ‘I’m not in my words, you won’t find me in what I say.’ It’s surprising how little it all matters.”
“My mom and dad were still married. For the next few months, I kept my mom’s secret. It killed me inside. Then, one day, my dad looked at me, nervously turning a beer in his hand around in circles. ‘He’s my boyfriend, you know?’ My jaw hit the floor.”
“He lied to me more than once. He talked about his ex-wife regularly, and he attacked and criticized my feelings. But at that point, we were already in love. My friend then told me, ‘I just described your boyfriend.’ Talk about a mic drop.”
“When my husband-to-be messaged me, I told him straight up, ‘I’m looking for a husband not a boyfriend.’ I was days out of my last relationship. I was tired. 5 years with 2 men who saw no value in me left me drained.”
“I discovered his messages to another girl. They were all complaints about ME. There was always another girl who fell into the mix for a week or two, to give him something new. But when I tried to date, he was back on my doorstep, begging for another chance. ‘You should check out this dating site,’ my friend said. Justin showed me my worth was far more than I could ever imagine.”
“Shock took my breath away and the words right out of my mouth. I believed I had only months left until life as we knew it would be tragically veered off course, to a new life of health issues and missed opportunities. I ruined my life.”
“All eight days were calling for rain. We woke up to sunny skies. The abundant sunshine became a symbol to us. We arrived home at about midnight. Our oldest daughter said, ‘Hey, what’s that on the ceiling?’ I looked up. ‘Hurry, go tell the cops.’”
