You Can't Kill Me Twice
One of my favorite book series is the Clan of the Cave Bear series by Jean M. Auel. The main character, Ayla, has always spoken to me for some reason but not so much as she has for the last year. Basically, she is a Cro-magnon child adopted and raised by a Neanderthal family. She struggles with being different while growing up and finally she has to be true to her own nature. As a result, they curse her with death and cast her out on her own. As she went through the motions of trying to survive and unlearning childhood behaviors, she would say to herself, I'm already dead, so what difference does it make what rules I'm breaking now? I find myself thinking similar thoughts as I try to rebuild my own life, almost utterly alone. Not quite though, because I have had friends I can count on who have been there for me. I've learned that I am empathetic, forgiving, and genuinely kind. I'm flaky as shit sometimes and while I try to minimize it, I am still learning copi...