you shine
brighter
than all the
starlight
there has
ever been
or ever
will be.
- emotional abuse is still abuse.
you deserve
someone
who makes
you feel
like the
otherworldly
creature
you are.
- yourself.
be wary
of the boys who
only ever tell
half-truths
because they
will only ever be
half in love
- slay those dragons.
when
someone
offers to
save you
make it
your mission
to
save yourself.
- i believe in you.
the end.
special acknowledgements
my sun & rain, who believed i could write this even when i didn’t.
my father, who probably didn’t know i was a writer but will hopefully be proud of me for writing this.
my sister-savior, who wouldn’t imagine giving up on me even in the darkest of times.
the rest of my family, who always encouraged me to keep moving forward even if it meant pushing me out of my comfort zone.
my beta readers (christine, mira, danika, shauna, rob, mason, & lauren), who cried while reading this & – most importantly – pointed out my inconsistences & corrected most of my grammar mistakes.
about the author
amanda lovelace is a poetess & storyteller whose words have been shared in her local coffee shop & her tumblr blogs. she currently lives in new jersey with her fiancé. she received her A.A. in english literature from brookdale community college in 2014. as of 2016, she is working toward her B.A. in english literature & sociology at kean university. what she will do next, nobody knows—not even her. for now, you can find her reading anything she can get her hands on, writing while she should probably be paying attention in class, thinking about writing but not actually writing, drinking an inordinate amount of coffee, & blogging about books. on top of all this she is a lover of all things cat-related as well as a staunch mermaid enthusiast. she considers herself to be a feminist & a social justice advocate. you can also find her as ladybookmad on twitter, instagram, & tumblr.