“Relationships take up energy; letting go of them, psychiatrists theorize, entails mental work. When you lose someone you were close to, you have to reassess your picture of the world and your place in it. The more your identity was wrapped up with the deceased, the more difficult the loss.”

“We hear a lot about identity theft when someone takes your wallet and pretends to be you and uses your credit cards. But the more serious identity theft is to get swallowed up in other people's definition of you.”

“More learning can occur when there are many obstacles then when thear are few or none. A life with difficult relationships, filled with obstacles and losses, presents the most opportunity for the soul's growth. You may have chosen the more difficult life so that you could accelerate your physical progress”

“When you make a commitment to a relationship, you invest your attention and energy in it more profoundly because you now experience ownership of that relationship”

“You did not go through everything you’ve gone through just to end up in the same place you were when you started. Let your past be your spring-board, not your quicksand.”

“Someone is always going to try to knock you down and take your place. It is up to you to fight for what you want.”