Emmaby Barton Grace

“I had experienced beautiful growth during college, I had found a vocation and a greater purpose. But since then, I had become gripped by a deep, desperate loneliness that I felt only romantic partnerships could fill. This feeling was so acute that I was willing to strike a terrible bargain. I suppressed my self-preservation and my intuition for momentary reprieves from loneliness. I entered a series of relationships with people who repeatedly and unapologetically harmed me. With my gut silent, my mind was alone at the helm generating plausible excuses for their bullshit.”
― Patricia Ononiwu Kaishian, Forest Euphoria: The Abounding Queerness of Nature