When I was going through my divorce, others often felt the need to tell me about their own divorces. I heard stories of couples signing the paperwork and then going to have coffee. Some spoke of marriages that quietly faded and negotiations that barely sullied the mediator’s desk. I encountered women at the gym who whispered over sweaty shoulders, “Just wait until you get his money; it’ll all be worth it then,” as though a divorce was some get-rich-quick scheme I entered willingly. And all of this was years before the advent of “conscious uncoupling;” I think if I had caught wind of that phrase, I would have run off to some desert island where there are no lawyers.
Is Your Divorce Malignant? Here’s How to Survive

Oh my – I have clicked around your story a bit and I am shocked. I thought I easily had the most toxic, destructive marriage ever, but as I see more and more women telling their stories it is clear that I dodged a firing squad!
Anyway, I know first-hand how much work it is to heal and to reshape yourself into a whole person, so it’s great to see you so happy to be where you are now.
Internet hugs from a stranger,
Athena