Portrait of Her

My heart is broken in two. Gosh, I really never knew it could be so finite or just this definitive. I never knew a slice could be so even-or a paring knife this sharp. They say, "Out of sight, out of mind." They say, "Friendship is the only rose without a thorn." They say, "It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." And they say: "Happiness is two scoops of ice cream-A warm puppy." The other day, Peter said, "You'll never have as much money as me! You'll never have a career like mine! You'll always be behind me, trailing!"

After a twenty-six-year-old woman unsuccessfully tries to hang herself in her bedroom, she begins to reminisce about her past loves. There was Brian, her first serious boyfriend, and then Cal, the one they called "Mr. Personality." But it's Peter, a famous, older author with whom she has been involved for three years, that she just can't quite let go. A conversation with her mother opens the window into her soul, helping her realize that she is not defined solely by her relationships, but something much deeper.