Healing After Heartbreak: Letting Go of the Life You Thought You Had

There’s a moment after heartbreak that no one prepares you for.

It’s the silence. The pause. The realization that everything you pictured—your future, your plans, your comfort—is suddenly…gone.

And the truth is, you're not only grieving the person you thought they were. You're grieving the life you thought you were building. The future that no longer exists.

I know that ache. It’s the kind that sinks deep. Healing after heartbreak isn’t linear. Some days you feel strong. Other days, you miss what could’ve been so much it hurts to breathe.

I was 28 when I got divorced and didn't really have anyone to "learn" from. No one that knew what I was going through. So here's a little advice from someone who's been there.

You aren't starting over. You aren't losing everything. You're just turning the page. You're closing one chapter to start another. Take with you only what you need and leave the rest behind.

In my novel Tear Stained Beaches, the main character faces this same unraveling. I wrote Haylie's story as I was going through all the emotions myself.

Like me, she too is left picking up the pieces of a shattered life. But through the pain, she starts to find herself again. Not the version who was defined by someone else, but the woman she was always meant to be.

Maybe you’re there now. Maybe you’re standing in the rubble of what once was, unsure if anything beautiful can grow from it.

Let me tell you: It can. It will.

There is something better ahead—not the life you thought it would be, but a life even better than you ever could've imagine.

If you’ve ever needed a reminder that there is healing after heartbreak, Tear Stained Beaches is for you.

It’s about loss. And grief. And the strength it takes to choose yourself again. Read the first chapter here.