“What if you spend the rest of your life chasing love,
only to find her cowering in the pit of your stomach?
What then?”
Almost Loved follows a former foster child’s search for love and connection, while pushing back on the labels assigned to her. Grappling with subjects of abuse, violence, mental health, and deeply held grief, this collection aims to answer: what does it truly mean to be loved in a world where you’re seen as second best?
Almost Loved follows a narrative arc and is broken into six sections. In section one we meet the unlovable girl, where we discover her origin story and the characters waiting to rip her apart. Next Murky Middle and Dark Nights, where she struggles to navigate dysfunctional relationships with herself, family and friends (relationships that almost end her life). But then she meets her partner, makes real friends and welcomes her little into the world and something shifts inside her. Bit by bit, she reclaims the love she should’ve had from the start.
The unlovable girl represents our struggle to see ourselves for the beautiful humans we are. Our voices stolen and hearts shredded by those that don’t know how to love themselves, but despite all the heartache we get back up again. Bit by bit, we believe in ourselves. We embrace our inner child who should’ve have been loved from the start.
Adoptee Author: Rena Joy
Publication Year: 2024
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