I can’t be normal about Heated Rivalry

She built a skincare empire, lost the love of her life, and found freedom in starting over.

If she weren’t married, dating apps would not be her primary strategy for finding a partner.

Is the universe fucking with me right now?

Did her TikTok algorithm know the truth about her sexuality before she did?

The clinical psychologist talks practices exercises for healing attachment wounds.

Meadowlark Monaghan explores finding love after abuse and heartbreak.

I continue to learn to hold space for both realities—the sacrifices my parents made and the things I still wish had been different.

Love remains my favorite subject to talk about, read about, think about, and write about.

It’s the 4 year anniversary of FWD JOY and I had no idea the profound healing this newsletter would bring me, or how many people would see themselves in my stories.

The licensed social worker and author talks about ghosting friends, building intimacy in platonic relationships, and understanding self-regulation vs. co-regulation.

What we fear the most is what we want the most.

In 2015 I got a second chance with a guy I thought was near perfect for me.

Plus, I answer your questions about friendship, love, and the election.

Each day, I kept a running list of all my thoughts, feelings, and what I was doing to help myself process and move through the haze.

I can’t deny there’s a part of me that feels empowered.

It is still possible to meet a kind, genuine, spiritually awakened, emotionally intelligent man on a dating app.

I have extremely high standards for who can have access to my body.

“Yes, I'm so unbelievably open to connection. Still, I'm not holding my breath until it gets here.”

“In the relationship with our parents, there's the good stuff, which is often what we also want to pull in our romantic relationships. Then, it's the not-so-great stuff we unconsciously pull in our relationships.”