Almost But Not Quite: A Coming Of Age Memoir

In this raw and unflinching memoir, Judy chronicles twenty-five years of chasing the wrong kind of love—and the hard-won wisdom that finally led her home.It all began in a Bickford's restaurant booth in 1995, when twenty-two-year-old Judy locked eyes with Damian and felt her world tilt sideways. What followed was decades of gravitating toward each other only to spin apart again, caught in an exhausting dance of perfect chemistry and terrible timing. While Damian remained tantalizingly out of reach—always offering just enough attention to keep her hoping, never enough to build a life on—Judy stumbled through a series of relationships that taught her everything about what love isn't.From her ill-fated stint as a dancer trying to capture Damian's attention, to a stable relationship with Tony that she sabotaged for one night of passion, to an engagement with the reliable Ken that felt more like settling than choosing, Judy's romantic life became a masterclass in accepting crumbs when she deserved the whole meal. Through betrayals and heartbreak, through the devastating loss of friends like Brian and Terence, through the painful recognition that some connections are meant to teach rather than last, she slowly learned to distinguish between the intoxicating pull of unavailable love and the quiet satisfaction of being truly chosen.With unflinching honesty and dark humor, Judy explores the magnetic power of uncertainty, the way trauma can masquerade as passion, and the radical act of finally believing you deserve better. This is a story about growing up, learning to love yourself, and discovering that the most profound love often looks nothing like what you thought you wanted.Almost But Not Quite is an achingly honest examination of why we're drawn to people who can't love us properly—and a celebration of the transformative power of finding someone who can.