The Introverted Bookmark

“i hope you walk through the world knowing your value. I hope you find a passion--something you love, something that lights you up inside. I hope you find the peace and confidence it takes to trust where your path leads. Remember it is only yours. Others can wave and cheer, but no one can give you directions. They have not been where you are going. I hope you will understand someday that just because you become a mother doesn't mean you stop becoming a woman. And above all else, I hope you know that even if you can't see me, I am always with you.”
― Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

“Mom had normalized this abuse. Indulged it. She’d made me a participant, reinforced this behavior by giving my father what he wanted when he acted this way. The most influential woman in my life had modeled this for me from the day I was born and told me to take it. She’d taught me this, primed me for my relationship with Neil. Made me believe that this was what love looked like.”
― Abby Jimenez, Part of Your World

“That maybe you learned to put up with Neil because from the earliest age you were taught that to be loved you had to placate an asshole?”
― Abby Jimenez, Part of Your World

“I hope you’ll understand someday that just because you become a mother doesn’t mean you stop being a woman.”
― Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer