“True love doesn’t always last,” I say. “It doesn’t always have to be for a lifetime.” “Right. And that doesn’t mean it’s not true love,” Jesse says. It was real. And now it’s over. And that’s OK. “I am who I am because I loved you once,” he says. “I am who I am because I loved you once, too,” I say. And then we say good-bye.”

“True love doesn’t always last,” I say. “It doesn’t always have to be for a lifetime.” “Right. And that doesn’t mean it’s not true love,” Jesse says. It was real. And now it’s over. And that’s OK. “I am who I am because I loved you once,” he says. “I am who I am because I loved you once, too,” I say. And then we say good-bye.”

“I never wanted a big wedding. I never wanted to wear a white dress or throw a bouquet.”

“I came across 'The Song of Achilles' by Madeline Miller in one of the most romantic ways one can find a story. I was digging through a pile of used books at my local library when my hand gravitated toward its brilliant teal and glistening gold cover.”

“My passion is capturing what it feels like to love, be it romantic or otherwise. I love to watch two people realize what they meant for each other - and that goes across all media, books, TV, movies, personal essays; everything.”

“Life is too short to be on a diet.”

“David clinks his wineglass to mine and smiles at me. You know what? Without the parsley there to distract you, it's quite a smile. It's bright white and streamlined. His face is handsome in a conventional way, all cheekbones and angles. He's not so attractive that you'd stop traffic to look at him. But neither am I. He's just a humbly good-looking guy. Like, if he were the new doctor in a small town in the Midwest, all the local women would schedule an appointment. He's that kind of attractive. His glasses sit comfortably on his nose, as if they have earned the right to be there.”

“No matter how strong you are, no matter how smart you are or tough you can be, the world will find a way to break you. And when it does, the only thing you can do is hold on.”

“I find myself smiling, finally. I guess I do remember how to do it. You just turn the corners of your mouth up.”

“Sweetheart, I’m telling you, you love someone like that, you love them the right way, and no time would be enough. Doesn’t matter if you had thirty years,” she tells me. “It wouldn’t be enough.”

“What's the rush, honey? We have all the time in the world.”

“I think I was just overly excitable about it because I loved him in a way I'd never thought possible. I knew that if I lost him, if I had to live without him, it would crush me. I needed him and I didn't just need him now, I needed him in the future. I needed him always. I wanted him always. I wanted him to be the father of my children. It's such a silly statement now; people say it all the time, they throw it around like it's nothing. And some people treat it like it is nothing, but it wasn't nothing to me. I wanted to have children with him someday. I wanted to be a parent with him. I wanted to have a child that was half him and half me. I wanted to commit to him and sacrifice for him. I wanted to lose part of myself in order to gain some of him. I wanted to marry him. So I wanted him to have meant it. I wanted it to be real.”