Name Not Taken

by Madeleine Henry

But I never hit send. In every message, I sensed that I was begging, and when you have to beg someone to stay, they’ve already left.

Some tragedies are so loud they mute everything around them. Joy feels like a betrayal to whoever’s in pain.

“Everything is a battle of perspective. There’s always a winner, and when you lose—when you decisively lose—then your view becomes the crazy one. So when people call you ‘insane,’ they’re letting you know who won.”