For Wrath and Redemption (The Hometown Heartless)

by Brit Benson

To the well-intentioned but misunderstood⁠— Even if they can’t forgive you, forgive yourself. You deserve your happily ever after.

I stand. Wash my hands. Rinse my mouth in the sink. I rinse it two more times.

“It’s been difficult seeing these changes in my body. Stepping on a scale at the doctor’s office. Buying bigger clothes. Having to scale back my workouts. It’s all been, well, hard. That trauma doesn’t heal overnight,