When We Let Go

by Rochelle B. Weinstein

But I never imagined Jude and I would grow as we had, that he would dive under my skin and latch on as he did.

Who was I without the people I loved?

“Holding on to something broken won’t get you what you want.

You don’t need my forgiveness. You need yours.

‘How to manifest your dreams into reality.’ Manifested that man right into my fucking life.”

“Isn’t that love?” he asked. “Finding the calm in all the chaos?”

And at the time, I didn’t know how monstrous I’d been. How my words were a weapon that could inflict pain and quash dreams. But I know now.

“Being strong . . . it doesn’t always mean being tough. It means letting those terrible feelings in, not pushing them away. It’s letting yourself feel all of it.”

You need to grab sunshine when you can. The real tragedy is living the rest of your life in the dark.”

They hold your heart in a different way than anyone else.”

“I don’t want to be the woman who hurts people.”

“Love, in its many forms, guarantees two things. It can burn us, but it can also surprise us. In the best possible way.”

If I loved you,” and I hear Elle’s voice, “did it mean I loved them less?”

I refuse to lose you.”