Things We Never Got Over

There’s a difference between taking care of someone because you love them and taking care of someone because you want them to love you,

You’re the one who has to live your life. Don’t apologize to other people for the decisions you make for yourself.

At some point, you have got to stop worrying so much about what everyone else needs and start thinking about what you need.

When you trust someone to see you for who you really are, the betrayal is a thousand times worse than if you hadn’t handed them the weapons in the first place,

You get to decide how you show up in this world. No one else gets to dictate to you who you are,

You know what they say about fine. Fucked up. Insecure. Neurotic. And emotional,

This book is about the bravery it takes for us to love someone when we all know how every love story ends.

Sooner or later, you have to accept that you’re not responsible for other people’s choices. Worse, sometimes you can’t fix what’s wrong with them.

You make broken things whole again. Me. You made me whole. And every time you smile at me, I feel like I hit the lottery again.

Mistakes were meant to be learned from, overcome. They weren’t meant to destroy.

We both just wanted someone to love us enough to make up for all the times we hadn’t been enough.

I’d lost myself while trying to convince someone else that I was what he wanted. I’d forgotten who I was because I’d let someone else take over the definition.

You can have anything you want. A big church wedding. A backyard barbecue. A five-figure wedding dress. But I have one demand.” Of course it was a demand and not a request. “What’s that?” “I want daisies in your hair.

So is setting an example for your niece about how she doesn’t need to turn herself inside out to be loved. How she doesn’t need to set herself on fire to keep someone else warm. Demanding to have your own needs met isn’t problematic—it’s heroic, and kids are watching. They’re always watching. If you set an example that tells her the only way she’s worthy of love is by giving everyone everything, she’ll internalize that message.

You’re telling me he’s a grumpy, overprotective hottie next-door and you’re not going to sleep with him? How wasteful.

My wish for all of us is that we love whole-heartedly and are present enough in our relationships that when we part our only regret is quantity not quality. That we all understand that the pain of loss is what gives the rest of our life color and flavor and texture.

Some people don’t know what to do with their pain,” Naomi said, looking out the window again. “So they take it out on whoever is nearby.

Words have power. They make people feel things

Because that’s what you fucking do when you love something. You show up. Even if you’re pissing your pants scared.

Was there someone out there who would find me to be enough? Not too much or too little, but the person they’d been waiting for their whole life.

But I did know that sometimes a bad seed was just a bad seed. No matter what field it was planted in, no matter how it was tended, some just came up rotten.

Baby, you need to stop obsessing about the things you should be doing and make some time for the shit you wanna do.

There were things a person never got over. We both just wanted someone to love us enough to make up for all the times we hadn't been enough. It felt like such a waste that we could feel the way we did, but neither of us could be that person for the other.

Because sometimes people don’t know how to ask for what they really need. You needed a hug.” “No. I didn’t,” he rasped. He was quiet for a long moment, and I listened to his heartbeat. “I needed you.

She was carrying a bouquet of flowers, and for a second, I wanted to know who the hell had given them to her so I could kick their ass.

Yeah. You do,” he countered. “Pain is what tells you you’re alive. You numb that, and how do you know you’re still here?

Don’t ever let a man you don’t like make decisions for you.

What’s anyone’s problem? Baggage. People meet, sparks fly, then they spend all their time trying to hide who they really are so they can stay attractive. Then we’re surprised when it doesn’t work out.” She had a point. “If everyone just introduced themselves with their baggage, imagine how much time we’d save.

The first time he met me, he called me trash.” “That bitch.” “Well, technically he thought I was Tina when he was yelling at me in front of an entire cafe full of strangers.” “That vision-impaired bitch.