I didn't set out to write these essays. Listen for more about why this project came to be.

The Afterwords Series - Intro

"Drunk History" was written May 1, 2020 as part of my daily writing project. It tells the story of a time when Tom's ability to project and distort the truth set our relationship on a troubling trajectory that altered not only my own understanding of him but also created a massive divide in the way our inner-circle friends viewed us.

Drunk History

"Two Weddings, One Day -- And the Divorce That Followed" was written October 2, 2017. This essay recounts the events that led up to a nearly year-long estrangement between Tom and me that stretched from October 2010-August 2011.

Two Weddings, One Day -- And The Divorce That Followed

"Shrug" was written April 1, 2021 as the first official public essay in The Afterwords Series. It came as a result of new information I had about Tom that confirmed a continuation of the same toxic cycle that I had escaped in 2014.

Shrug

"I Am Not Your Enemy" was written May 1, 2021. This is a companion essay to "Drunk History" that further explains Tom's manipulation tactics and how that may have influenced the opinions and viewpoints of our mutual friends. As the title suggests, however, this piece also reaffirms my motivations for sharing my story as the first (of what turns out to be a select few) to block me on social media, presumably for speaking out.

No matter what, I remain not your enemy.

I Am Not Your Enemy

"Why I Left" was written on June 15, 2021. This essay came about after conversations with a couple people who said they either assumed I'd left OR were told by Tom that I'd left because "I was in love and he was not" or, even more crassly, that I was "waiting for my turn."

That ain't it.

This essay explores the eleven month period from January until November 2014 that Tom and I spent breaking up.

Why I Left

This is the home of the audible version of The Afterwords Series, an essay collection about what happened when two lives collided in 2005.