Advance Praise
“This is a must-read for anyone who wants a forever relationship without making the same mistakes they did in their past ones. Untangling is the guide for letting go—a roadmap to a confident and open-hearted future.”
—Jack Canfield and Kimberly Kirberger, #1 New York Times Best-selling Authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul Books
“Unapologetically raw, Untangling is the message everyone needs to discover. A journey of heartbreak, self-reflection and self-love can be hard, but if you keep your heart open it can never be broken. This book is a gem . . . a spiritual and emotional gift to everyone who reads it and decides to take action to rise up in their lives.”
—Logan Lester, Miss Texas USA 2018
“Untangling is a vulnerable reminder that a breakup does not mean you’re broken. Emma’s flawless way of describing her pain will resonate with anyone who has ever been blindsided by a tragic ending. A beautiful journey of self-discovery after heartache, the realization that healing isn’t linear and that people aren’t always capable of giving us what we deserve. We are privy to her innermost thoughts and through her courageous transparency we receive a gift—seeing her growth outweigh her pain and remembering that we are capable of that too.”
—Danni Starr, National Media Personality and Author of Empathy and Eyebrows - A Survivalist’s Stories on Reviving Your Spirit After Soul-Crushing Sh*tstorms
“Untangling is an invaluable addition to Emma’s Life Letters series. The book is honest, raw and undeniably soothing to a reader’s heart. It is layered with life lessons on how to move on, with honest confessions of love and the importance of taking the journey from heartbreak to healing. Starting at the end, the book unwinds in a unique way, revealing important messages about what it feels to love, to hurt, to break your heart and to move on. I absolutely love Emma’s healing words and I tune into them daily. This is a writer who is here to soothe hearts all over the world and teach the importance of self-love.”
—Ruby Dhal, Speaker, Performer, and Author of ‘My Hope for Tomorrow’
“Untangling is a great reminder of the many things that are important for the soul. It reminds me I am not the only one who’s going through heartache, struggling to find answers to questions for which there are often none. This book helped me stop blaming myself—and find a way forward with a new hope for love. Thank you Emma Grace for helping me understand, and for giving me a new perspective on this life. Thank you for being brave enough to share your story and writing this beautiful book. We love you.”
—Sabina Meisinger, Thai TV Host
“Through self-worth, humility, and charm . . . Emma’s Untangling is the good friend you need during one of life’s most challenging moments . . . a broken heart.”
—Cyndal Gilmore, Hamilton Cast Member
THE LIFE LETTERS
Untangling
Starting at an Ending
to Find a Beginning
Emma Grace
NEW YORK
LONDON • NASHVILLE • MELBOURNE • VANCOUVER
Untangling
Starting at an Ending to Find a Beginning
© 2021 Emma Grace
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in New York, New York, by Morgan James Publishing. Morgan James is a trademark of Morgan James, LLC. www.MorganJamesPublishing.com
ISBN 9781631950131 paperback
ISBN 9781631950148 eBook
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020931383
Cover & Interior Design by:
Christopher Kirk
Author Photography by:
Jacadra Young
Morgan James is a proud partner of Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg. Partners in building since 2006.
Get involved today! Visit
MorganJamesPublishing.com/giving-back
For Lindsey, who walked with me towards a beginning.
A Note from the Author
This is a book for all the hearts who were once in love, who are falling out of love, or who will one day be head over heels in love again. As you’re reading it, I want you to remember, amidst all that other stuff you’re going crazy thinking about—that it is not your fault.
I mean it. It’s not.
It is not your fault that you can’t see through eyes of love and eyes of reason at the same time. It’s not your fault if you fall in love too early—or fell out of love too late. It’s not your fault if you can’t make it work. Or tried too hard to make it work. Or if you can’t or won’t or weren’t able to see that maybe they didn’t totally deserve what you ended up giving them—or how long you gave it to them for. It is not your fault if you messed up how it was supposed to go—if you called too much or texted too much because you loved them that much. You aren’t needy. You aren’t weak. You were just—in love. And that, no matter what, is a beautiful thing.
We are not supposed to predict things in this life. We are just supposed to live them. And experience them. And learn from them. So I want you to know, no matter where you are on this journey—that it is not your fault, how it all goes. You are part of a much larger constellation of experiences that ultimately shape what happens to you. And sure, a small part you’ll get the chance to steer—to choose—but the rest will be totally and completely out of your hands.
Love is, well, it’s a beautiful mess—and it always will be.
I don’t mean that in a bad way, though.
What I mean is—we’re all out there trying and searching and loving and losing and healing and hurting and breaking. All of us. We have all been hurt. And we will all be loved.
Maybe you find your one when you’re in the sixth grade. Or maybe they will stumble into your life at a time you didn’t even believe in love anymore. But that’s how it works. All of it. You need the uncertainty. You need the one who breaks you and the one who builds you. You need the one that loves you like crazy when you’re not ready to be loved like crazy—and especially the one you love like crazy—who just isn’t ready for you.
You need to trust and be trusted, break and be broken. You need to feel that powerful, eyes-across-the-room kind of passion—and you need to know what a partner feels like, too. The one who won’t just kiss you like you’ve never been kissed—but who will see your beauty in the messyhaired mornings and want to be there—want to be there—when you’re sick. And hurt. And insecure. And stressed. And, well—for all those other things life throws at us after the photo-op and Instagram post and beachy sandy picture part of the love story fades away.
Because it does. It always does.
Love isn’t always shiny. It’s not always starry eyes and holding hands. It’s not