by Vanessa Cardenas, Trusted Advisor for Betrayal & Transformation
 

I've carried too many things that reflected an imaginary version of my marriage, created decades ago, with tales of princesses and princes, honor and sacrifice, true love and dying devotion, solidified on the silver screen and in literature where love was professed and sacred.

 

As a child, I dreamed of Prince Charming and all the attributes that made him "charming". I wasn't greedy; I just wanted him to love me and protect me.  I wanted to be loved and adored and in return, I loved unconditionally and faithfully.  I had my epic love story...until completely blindsided by betrayal...all at once I questioned everything, was it all bullsh*t?  

 

Days turned into weeks, turned into months - until one day it clicked.  This was the part of the story that all great stories have, the apex, a crisis...every great story has at least one, otherwise, you wouldn't turn the page to see what happens next...

 

Intimate partner betrayal was my chapter of crisis, however, it was getting too long as I wallowed in sorrow and despair...in the land of what-ifs.  I wanted to turn the page, and start a new chapter...yes, there were times when I went back to "reread" to be sure I remembered (as if I could forget), but mostly it was a little pity party (pity I found to be a lack of self-love at a moment in time) that I thought I needed.

 

Now, years later, I share my story of how I went from hurt to healing from intimate partner betrayal so it can be someone else's survival guide...similar to a library book passed from person to person, dog-eared, and beloved. My own happily ever after is on the horizon.

 

I have been honored to help many of my clients write their own "I went from hurt to healing" chapter.