Book excerpt: It had been almost a year since Todd and I decided to go our separate ways. It was a mutual decision to break up. We had simply grown apart. We still loved each other very much, but we just couldn't seem to get past the differences that grew between us the last year that we were together. It wasn't an easy decision for either one of us. We did, however, remain friends through the break up. We still talked to each other all the time, and in the first few months after the breakup, I found it hard to talk to him and not ask if he wanted to try and work things out only because I didn't want to be alone. I was learning firsthand what the word lonely really meant. There were a couple of other boyfriends before Todd, but I knew that they weren't going to last. They had simply been someone to hang out with and have fun with, someone to go out to dinner with or a movie. I had no intentions of getting too serious with them, like I had with Todd. I had always thought that Todd was the one for me, my true and everlasting soul mate. He made me feel special, and he didn't obsess over me or what I did. I felt that I could be myself¯a free spirit¯with him. He was soft and loving toward me; he was protective but not overbearing. He made me feel safe. I knew that I didn't have to worry about anyone hurting me. Todd would stand back and let things happen till he sees that I needed his help. Then he would step in and take over. No one messed with me while I was with Todd.