Regarding the decision to separate, a fellow FWW blogger told me that for her "It's a matter of discomfort having to surpass fear." Very wise. On the days I am certain leaving is the right thing to do though I can't quite do it, the underlying message here is my only comfort: the fear that keeps me stuck is not strange or unusual, and not something only I struggle with.

In an early job interview, an influential editor asked me how I felt about self-help books. This was more than a decade ago, and trying to impress her with an erudite reply, I told her I wasn't into them. She responded that the genre was poised to be the fastest growing in the English language market. Oops.

While that job didn't pan out, her prediction did. The number of titles purporting to help fix everything from low self-esteem to relationships skyrocketed, and people continue to buy them in droves. Apparently, millions of us feel stuck in some way. I am not alone. 

"You aren't on anybody's schedule but your own," another supportive blogger wrote. Indeed, there are people out there who seem to know exactly how "stuck" feels. And more than any book I've read, the kind voices in this community lift me up when I'm uncertain even about my own uncertainty. This brings me more patience. And more time. Thank you.