“Faith is a funny thing. It holds out the option of surrender when everything else has failed. The power of prayer lies in its ability to give us permission to put down our burdens and trust that the universe will have our backs.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“It is possible to walk the path we have been assigned with gratitude and forgiveness, courage and grace, humility and confidence, without falling apart.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“All I could do was what I had done each morning for all these years. Light my lamp. Every Single. Day.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“The longer you perform a ritual, the more power it garners - from the act, from the faith, from the feeling.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“When you step off the beaten track, believe that you will be able to figure things out, find help from unexpected people, and most importantly, discover a reservoir of strength from the one source that you may not have considered—within yourself.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“There are many things I have been sorry for in my life, many mistakes and misunderstandings caused by my words and actions that I find difficult to defend in retrospect. But I am proud of having asked for a hug, uncaring of whether I would be viewed as soft or incompetent. By asking, I learned an important lesson: expressing vulnerability makes us stronger.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“There’s always a choice and that choice begins with words—the stories people tell you and the stories you tell yourself. How you choose to build the foundation of your life will determine how well it stands up against the naysayers who try to trip you up.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Adversity can be a great unifier, a stimulus that helps people bind together with a secret glue.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Every day I used my power of concentration, indulged my pleasure in lifelong learning, and kept up my hope that this credential would further bolster my expertise. Stepping into each day with this focus turned my attitude from despair to anticipation.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“One simple step of parking my attention on something constructive and using my strengths helped me build self-esteem. Instead of considering myself to be a failure, I could see myself as a success, even if in only a small way.”
“Like a child building a new toy with a heap of Lego blocks, I reassembled the useful pieces from the debris of my old life with patience, persistence and a strong belief that a better life was possible.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“I needed to find out if I still had a motherlode of gratitude buried somewhere in my psyche. I would have to first clear the debris of disenchantment, clear the path and allow that small trickle to come through.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Children have a remarkable ability to focus only on the good, and my child was no exception.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“It felt important to acknowledge our small successes, to stop and observe the tiny pockets of sunshine that broke up the boredom of our monochrome days and made us smile.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“There was rain, but there were rainbows too.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“In the most unlikely moments, I would catch glimpses of the person I used to be: the child who shrieked with delight as her dress swirled about her like a balloon, the girl who used to see the glass as half full, the young woman who used to laugh at the absurdity of life. All of those previous versions of myself had existed, yet I couldn’t have imagined what the future versions would be like.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Going inward through meditation was as frightening as being lost in the woods. I was afraid that dark thoughts—guilt, blame, self-pity—would emerge from the shadows of the recesses of my mind where I had pushed them.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Sometimes silence, more than words, can provide solutions.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Every moment spent “doing” meant less time for silence or for self and less opportunity for introspection.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“From measuring my life in terms of milestones, I now tried to measure it in moments—those small pockets of time that float with great radiance even though they are embedded in the minutiae of life.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“A place can be a living, breathing thing. It can shimmer with joy or with maleficence.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“The memorable days are few. Most days are a blur of chores and errands and activities that don’t really add up to anything significant. But there is value in savoring the simple joys that each day brings. There is power in being able to choose not just your home and its contents but how you see your life and its context.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“In the three years since leaving my husband’s house, I had reclaimed parts of my authentic self. I had discovered the optimistic, trusting young woman that I had once been. She had remained dormant under layers of social conditioning but was still living and breathing deep inside.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“By writing what I was grateful for, I learned to look for things that made me smile.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“I decided to create a home from scratch, something that would reflect my tastes and preferences with a combination of objects and energy that would add up to a safe and inviting space for the people and experiences I wanted to welcome into my life.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“To gain confidence, to put myself firmly on a path to independence, I needed to practice making small choices. I decided to begin by making this cavernous house into a cozy home.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Growing up is never easy. We think it happens when you reach a certain age, accomplish a goal, acquire a house, or reach a milestone, but it doesn’t stop.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Nothing was permanent, even discontentment.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“On the surface, all may seem calm, but things move forward exactly as they should, in tandem with an unseen natural rhythm.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Every day, no matter how productive or ordinary, was still a reminder of all that was different from the life I had imagined.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“There is change, and there is transformation.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Change happens as it inevitably does.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Change is gradual, like the seasons, and our bodies, like the inside-out change that my life had undergone since the divorce.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“I was already missing large parts of Shreya’s life by being away at work for long hours and because of her weekends with her father. Yet I had never considered sending her away either for her benefit or mine. We were yoked together by biology and karma. Our situation was not ideal, but at least we had each other.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Childhood is a time of openness and acceptance, of gullibility and trust, of fun and friendships. The bonds formed in the early years of life remain strong because on some level you realize that you and the other person are bundles of pure potential. You don’t know how you will turn out. What will you become? How will you see and how will you be seen by the world? Despite the unknowns, there is a nonjudgmental acceptance of each other.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Every single person deals with their own special trauma—there is no hierarchy of pain that makes one’s suffering superior to that of others. We work from our own baselines, moving up in our understanding of how it all fits together.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“There were days when I did not feel any pain. Perhaps there was a scar that would always mark the wound, a reminder of what had changed, but it did not stop me from moving, growing, and becoming more of myself.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Everything you do does not need to have a practical use; it’s important to make space for beauty.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Sometimes, wishes come true in strange ways.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Signs, they say, are everywhere if you care enough to look for them. Yet sometimes you need a person to point them out to you.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“In that moment, I dissolved into eternity, a feeling that was both intense and fleeting. I floated above myself while still remaining connected to the bones and skin that made up my body. All of my thoughts and emotions felt petty and trivial in the grand cosmic plan that encompassed me.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Could she be happy outside my daily, direct control? The answer was yes. It was a blow to my ego, but it was true. The epiphany lifted a great weight off my shoulders. Even though I could not understand the grand scheme of things, I could see what was truly important when I applied a simple filter—my child’s well-being—to the situation.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Books have always been my best companions. They have not only provided entertainment but also served as wise, nonjudgmental mentors whenever I needed advice. The problem with my situation was that I had not come across a single book to guide me or at least accompany me as I laid out the roadmap for the rest of my life. In fact, I had no idea how I had arrived at this unfamiliar crossroad. I certainly did not deserve to be in this predicament.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Meditation made me sick.
Meditation made me mad.
Meditation made me sad.
Meditation gave me hope.
Meditation pointed toward a way.
Meditation showed me not just how to live my life but also how to think about life itself.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“The truth was, I was not just afraid to be alone—I was unprepared. Even though I considered myself to be a free-thinking, independent individual, the strands of my life had always been enmeshed with others, something that was now being revealed to me in so many ways.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“It was a day filled with relief and grief in equal measure. I mourned for the fact that we would not create memories together. I mourned for the fact that we would not create memories together. I rejoiced for the fact that we would not create more memories together. I cried because both of those opposing states were true.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“No one is prepared for the death of a parent, regardless of their age, health, or circumstances. Despite knowing that in the natural order of things your parents will leave the world before you, when death actually strikes, it can evoke many feelings beyond just grief.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“There was no social ritual to indicate that I had undergone a major life event. No forty days of rest as after childbirth, no forty days of mourning after death. There was no symbolic act of closure. Like the divorce, the absence of closure would be a unique cross for me to bear.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“When the walls reverberated with the innocent laughter and joy that children bring to the present moment without the baggage of the past or worries about the future, a great weight lifted from my shoulders.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“My deep desire for motherhood was a yearning that overshadowed any accomplishment I could claim as mine.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery