Trisha Lim
This book is about a couple who fall out of love after 10 years of being together. Nothing crazy happens. Nobody cheats. No one Is physically abusing the other.
They start to resent each other for the little things. Not agreeing where to eat, doing things the other doesn't want to do in order to please their partner, expectations that aren't met, chores that aren't divided equally and so on.
They attempt to fix their marriage, but it's a long hard journey.
As much as I love reading about heroes and powerful main characters, I also love books like this that are closer to real life. It shows you a perspective of what's it like to be in the main character's shoes in a realistic setting. Let's face it, the chances of me being a dragon-riding demon-fighting fairy saving the world are zero.
I like this book because I can relate to it. I've been that person who started to build resentment because I wanted people to know what I wanted from them without having to tell them. I've been that person who felt unimportant, and instead of speaking up, I chose to hide my “ridiculous feelings” and get over it. I did not get over it.
What would have happened if I kept doing that and broke my relationship? In this book, I can see one possibility of how it can play out.
I learned that it's important to appreciate the people in your life while you still have them. You don't have to wait to lose them.
A happy family and a complete family aren't mutually exclusive.
“If you stay married for a number of years and you have a happy time together and then you decide you don't want to be married anymore and you choose to go be happy with someone else or doing something else, that's not a failure.”
We don't know what the future holds, so it's important to enjoy the present. Not everything you do today has to be the thing that you do for the rest of your life. Be it your partner, your friends, your career.
This obsession with finding “the one” and finding your “calling” gives me anxiety. How can I know what I want for the rest of my life? I change all the time. Letting this expectation go is freeing.
I can just be where I am now, and if I change my mind or things don't work out, then I will go and do the next thing.