#thelifeletters

[liveinthedetails]

Just here being thankful for the people in my life I count most as blessings. Tag the ones you are most thankful for below— and make sure, on this rainy Monday, that they know just how important they’ve been. And are. And will always be. ♥ // © 2019 LIVE IN THE DETAILS ————————————————————————————Courage to Rise is available worldwide. Order from your favorite bookstore or grab a signed copy from the link in bio. ♥ #liveinthedetails #thelifeletters #couragetorise https://www.instagram.com/p/ByhyhaFle3A/?igshid=wnktbdl4ffl7

[liveinthedetails]

Here’s the thing about chapters. When you’re writing them, you tend to get too close. Your perspective becomes about detail. About how just those few pages play out. How they start and end. And a little bit about what happens in the middle. And you start to think that those few pages— those few people and experiences and stories that star in that one chapter— have the power to alter everything. And maybe in some ways they do. But not like you’d think. You’re going to think when you’re in the middle of a chapter that everything needs to be fixed by the end. That all your questions need answers and all the ends need beginnings and all the people need to stay. Darling, they don’t. And truth? They won’t. Because here’s the thing. This is— just— a piece of your story. It’s not your story. And this part that you’re writing now— even though every single part of you may be getting lost in the details of this one chapter— is going to work out. It is. But you’re going to need to give it to time to fit. And you’re going to need to keep writing. And most importantly, you’re going to need to trust yourself. Because you’re the author. And you choose what happens after this part. Write people in, or write them out. Change your direction or your mind. Make things right. Go back. Move forward. Darling— do what you need to do. And that’s the beautiful part about it. You can change everything. Or nothing. Yes, you made a mistake. Or had wild success. You lost something you can’t even fathom living without. You loved someone. Your heart was broken. You trusted the wrong person. Or the right one. You were careless or hurtful or wrong. You were happy or wild or free. Yes, that is life. And it’s beautiful how the pieces start to fit. But that was a chapter. And this is a book. And darling, what you do with it now is what defines your story. Write it well, sweet soul. Write it well. ♥ // © 2018 LIVE IN THE DETAILS ————————————————————————————Courage to Rise is available worldwide. Order from your favorite bookstore or grab a signed copy from the link in bio. ♥ #liveinthedetails #thelifeletters #couragetorise #werise https://www.instagram.com/p/Br8M9rXFe7a/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rano0ef091n8

[liveinthedetails]

It was taking a long time to find what she was looking for. She had met the ones she had loved like crazy. That didn’t love her. And she had met the ones that had loved her like crazy. That she couldn’t love back. She had met the right ones with the wrong timing and the beautiful souls that had only walked with her for a season. She had loved people from a distance and she had loved them in the every-day, Sunday-morning kind of way. She had dreamt and felt what the future could— would— look like with each of those hearts. But her forever still hadn’t found her. And although her heart had been broken— so broken— she remained a dreamer. That girl wanted something more than just the photos and the wedding dates. She wanted more than just someone to be there— to fill that space in her life where love was supposed to live. It was simple, really, what she was looking for. Simple— but so hard to find in this big old crazy world. She wanted the feeling. The one where the world stops and starts all at the same time. She wanted to feel the rest of the world fade away when that one person was holding her hand. She wanted that warmth— the kind of love that filled every space within her and then spilled out into the rest of her world. Coloring it with hope. And love. And that feeling that only true love can give her. Whole. There were so many people that called her a dreamer. That said she should settle down— meaning, she should settle. They said she didn’t know what she wanted. She did. And she knew— with everything that she was— that love would find her. Maybe it wouldn’t look exactly like she thought it would. Maybe it wouldn’t look *anything* like she thought it would. But she knew it was looking for her. And she knew that to get it, she was going to have navigate the almosts along the way. And as hard as it was, she wasn’t made for almosts. She didn’t know how long it would take. But she know it would find her. And when it did, she would know. Damn it, she would know. ♥ // © 2018 LIVE IN THE DETAILS #werise————————————————————————————— Signed limited edition advance copies of ‘Courage to Rise’ are available NOW. ♥ #liveinthedetails #couragetorise #thelifeletters (at *caption) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo1MWoph3U8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=6gsdh6eyeh8u

[liveinthedetails]

You pushed her. You put her down. You belittled her dreams and called her names and tried to slowly and intentionally break her. You called it love. And because you did, she believed you. She’s like that. She believed you even while you were standing there trying to threaten everything she’d ever been— ever wanted to be— making her question her life and her past and hell, so very much her future. Your words were intended for a slow unraveling— a systematic dismantling. And your last best move— you told her to stand on her own. To stop loving you so much. You told her to get out there and find her own damn life. And you said it to hurt her. As the way you let her know she wasn’t a part of yours. And I guess you could never have guessed it would happen how it did— but that sweet girl stepped out into this crazy old world and it was ready for her. And she was tired of you. And all those cracks you tried so hard to build into her, darling, weren’t really cracks at all. They were room to grow. You thought she’d fail. You thought she’d come crawling back and you could prove for the hundredth time that you were right and she was wrong and she could never make it without you. But not this time, darling. Not this time. You told her to get out there and find her life. And damn it, she did. (Image: Page 197 from Courage to Rise) ♥ // © 2018 L I V E in the D E T A I L S #werise————————————————————————————— Signed and numbered SUPER limited edition copies of ‘Courage to Rise’ available NOW. www.liveinthedetails.com. ♥ #liveinthedetails #couragetorise #thelifeletters (at *caption) https://www.instagram.com/p/BncGhIyhOn8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=gbl5ec7unody

[liveinthedetails]

The #lifeletters are almost here. The site is launching in August— and when it does, you can be one of the first to grab Courage to Rise. These books will ship immediately— so you’ll get your copy months before the world-wide release date. And even better, these copies are super limited edition. Only 1500. And they will be signed (to you), numbered, and come with a few extras. Available world-wide. Stay tuned. 😍 ♥ // July 2018: So thankful that the universe had #differentplans than I did. // #liveinthedetails #couragetorise #writersofinstagram #thelifeletters #TheGoodQuote—————————————————————————— Pre-orders for Courage to Rise are happening now (link in bio). Limited edition autographed copies available late Summer 2018. World-wide release 9.4.18 (e-book) and 12.18.18 (print). ♥

[liveinthedetails]

How old are you? Have you met the “one” yet? ♥ // © 2019 LIVE IN THE DETAILS————————————————————————————Courage to Rise is available worldwide. Order from your favorite bookstore or grab a signed copy from the link in bio. ♥ #liveinthedetails #thelifeletters #couragetorise https://www.instagram.com/p/B6Yc-5tFp1a/?igshid=p08whtn9hcky

[liveinthedetails]

You are not hard to love. You are not too late or too much or not enough. You don’t need to do more or be more or have more. You don’t need to be thinner or taller or tighter— your lips and beautiful and your stomach is perfect and your chin is— you. The world gave you a body and asked you to decorate it. Care for it. Dress it up and make it yours. The universe gave you a soul and asked you to carry it. Asked you to nurture it— feed it— let it find the things it connects with in this life. It’s not up to you to force things that don’t fit. It’s not your job to ask why people can’t— don’t— love you. To stand there and listen to them tell you all the things you aren’t. Never were. Or won’t ever be. And certainly—your job is never to change yourself *for* them to make yourself more lovable *to* them. Darling— I know this world has a lot of no’s and ‘you’re not good enoughs’ and ‘you’re not the ones.’ I get that you might want to hear those things and change. Don’t. The greatest job you’ll ever have is staying you in a world that is trying like hell to make you into everyone else. Do that. And remember— you are not hard to love. You never have been. You just asked the wrong person— people— to try. ♥ // © 2019 LIVE IN THE DETAILS Amazing Art by: @flowsofly (Want to Collab? Email me.) #liveinthedetails #couragetorise #author #thelifeletters #quote https://www.instagram.com/p/B6LD_3kF1eH/?igshid=16wpy9vx9t786

[liveinthedetails]

You already know I’m right. And it makes your stomach turn a little, doesn’t it? When you talk about them, you emphasize all the good things. When you scroll through your social media, you linger on the words that make you feel more secure. The things that say... some people just need more time. And maybe... they’re just trying to push you to be better. You focus on them being misunderstood. Or having a tough childhood. Or overcoming that really hard past. And so, with all those excuses you make for them, darling, you don’t do a thing for your heart. But you do exactly two things for theirs. First— you give them permission to give you less than you deserve. And second— and this is the worst— you let them steal that part of you that believes like crazy in big love. So I’m going to tell you the hard truth. No sugar-coating. Darling, let go— let go— of people who make you change as the criteria for being loved by them. The sooner you do, the easier it becomes and the less damage it does to your heart. I’m not talking about the ones that encourage you to be better— I’m talking about the ones that break you down. Tell you what to wear and say and do. The ones who make you feel like you’re not good enough with no make-up on or that you need to lose weight for them to see you as beautiful. I’m talking about the ones who hold your hand in public and hurt your heart in private. The ones who tell you they aren’t ready and they aren’t sure and all those other squishy things that shout so loudly they don’t love you. And they probably won’t. Darling, those are not the hearts to love. I promise they will teach you a lot. And honestly, those are important lessons to learn. But if there is any way I can save you from having to feel that pain, I want to. Let them go. ♥ // © 2019 LIVE IN THE DETAILS ————————————————————————————Courage to Rise is available worldwide. Order from your favorite bookstore or grab a signed copy from the link in bio. ♥ #liveinthedetails #thelifeletters https://www.instagram.com/p/B4N5g3AFl-R/?igshid=fuqg9az2kjok