“I’ll walk where my own nature would be leading—
It vexes me to choose another guide.”

-- Emily Brontë

My life changed on October 24, 1981. That was the day that my two precious sons and I got on an airplane in Portland, Oregon to fly to Minneapolis-St. Paul, where my family picked us up. The change was choosing to leaving my husband, who had become violent. That was a big turning point in my life because it was not an easy thing to do.

I also feel that years of looking for “Mr. Right” was oh, so wrong. I had dealt with some very difficult relationships and through counseling, I learned that I didn’t need a man in my life. In fact, I would rather be alone than go through hell again. I value my solitude; it is bringing me to a point in my life that I can finally express myself and who I am. And I don’t have to answer to anyone but God and myself.

~ Audrey Graham

“Communication is a continual balancing act, juggling the conflicting needs for intimacy and independence. To survive in the world, we have to act in concert with others, but to survive as ourselves, rather than simply as cogs in a wheel, we have to act alone.”

-- Deborah Tannen