When I was 7 years old, my father abandoned me. One-night sounds of raised voices sliced through my mother’s bedroom. It wasn’t the first time I heard my parents arguing, but something about this time felt different. Then, the unthinkable happened. I was forced to choose which parent I wanted to live with. I choose my mother. The last memory I had of my father for years, was the image of the soles under his  shoes, when he walked out the door for the last time.  

His departure became the lens that shaped my perspective how I viewed and analyzed relationships. For years I believed I was unlovable, and I carried that fear of abandonment, allowing it to dictate my dysfunctional choices. As a result of that experience, I abandoned my core values and lowered my standards. I engage in unfulfilling relationships that were toxic. I was trapped on a relentless emotional wheel, doomed to repeat the painful, destructive cycle, selecting the same prototype in partners each time, hoping for a different outcome but only finding myself back in the same heart-wrenching reality. Many of us silently endure this pain, believing there’s no way out, but I’m here to tell you—there is.