Learning the sound of my own voice again

Growing up, love was conditional and the conditions changed daily. I became an expert at reading a room before I could read a book.

As an adult I noticed I could not answer simple questions. What do you want for dinner? I genuinely did not know, because wanting things had never been safe.

Recovery, for me, has been small and unglamorous. Choosing the restaurant. Saying no without a five-paragraph explanation. Letting a silence be uncomfortable and not rushing to fill it.