“Because I don’t want the new folder to only remind me of what happened,” she said.

“I want it to remind me that I can start again.”

PART 18

I began attending individual counseling that winter.

I had spent so long measuring my usefulness by what other people needed that I struggled to answer a simple question: What would make your own life better?

I told the counselor I wanted a home where I could speak without rehearsing consequences.

I wanted Selena to see a marriage, or even a separation, handled without contempt.