Crushes start out as that teenage phenomenon, life-affirming and cute, but as you wander into adulthood, they seem to end up more painful, harrowing, and uncertain, especially if you have just come out of the relationship you thought would finally, maybe, maybe be the one that stuck.

One of our fundamental human needs is finding our partner that we hope we will stay with for the rest of our lives. You often find the same search in other genres. The mystery novel has a romance subplot. Literary novels often focus on that relationship but do not often end well.

A relationship can be deeply damaging without anyone leaving marks on you. So many people - especially young women - end up trying to maintain those emotionally abusive relationships because we don't think it's that bad and that we are really some of the lucky ones because we haven't experienced 'real' abuse.

Relationship Quotes