At a certain point we get to decide who it is we allow to influence us. - Cheryl Strayed

There are so many torturous things in this life. Don't let a man who doesn't love you be one of them.

But as you are surely aware, forgiveness doesn't mean you let the forgiven stomp all over you once again. Forgiveness means you've found a way forward that acknowledges harm done and hurt caused without letting either your anger or your pain rule your life or define your relationship with the one who did you wrong.

[Books] were the world I could lose myself in when the one I was actually living in became too lonely or harsh or difficult to bear.