Before I wrote The Men We Date: Getting It Right or So Wrong, I spent years reflecting on the relationships that shaped me, some fleeting, some deep, and some that left lasting scars. This blog post is a glimpse into why I wrote it and what I hope it offers anyone navigating their own romantic path.

The Men We Date: A Journey Through Lessons, Love, and Letting Go

By RLH Chronicles

The Men We Date: GETTING IT RIGHT OR SO WRONG is a journey, a reflection on the relationships we choose, the lessons they teach us, and the growth we gain along the way. It's about examining the time we sometimes feel we've "wasted," the moments that tested us, and, more importantly, the truths we uncover in hindsight.

For some, dating is a series of missteps. For others, it leads to the right person at just the right time. But for all of us, it's a growth process—sometimes messy, often painful, and always necessary.

This book shares my experiences and the insights I’ve gathered. One of the biggest lessons? Trusting my intuition. Even if I sometimes wish I could erase certain chapters, I’ve come to accept that every part of the journey matters. I’m still becoming—and maybe you are too.

Firstborn. Forever.

This book is crafted to reflect the essence of Julian’s life, each element thoughtfully chosen to honor who he was, who he could have become, and how his memory lives on within me.

Throughout the pages, you’ll notice specific symbols woven into the narrative that speak to him directly. One of the most meaningful: some sections will be formatted using a font size 26, the age at which Julian tragically passed.

This isn’t just a number. It’s a tribute.

A tribute to the years ahead we were supposed to share.

To the milestones he should have reached.

To the boy he was, and the man he was always meant to be.

This book is more than words on a page. It’s a mother’s grief.

A memorial in motion.

A way to ensure that Julian is never forgotten, not by me, and not by the world.

It's time for me to say it!

Dedication

For Julian, my firstborn, always in my heart.

You were light, laughter, and love wrapped in human form. Though your time here was painfully short, your impact was immeasurable.

This book is for the boy you were, the man you were becoming, and the earthly future we will never spend together.

You live in every word, every pause, every tear.

This is your story etched in memory, written in truth, and carried in the deepest part of me.

I will love you until the end of my days, until we see each other again in paradise.

–Mom

To Every Mother Who Has Lost a Child

From one heart to another.

I share this not because I have all the answers, but because I’ve walked through the unimaginable, and I now understand.

There is a silent sisterhood among us, those who have carried life into this world only to feel it leave far too soon. We are different now. Changed. Marked. Not by choice, but ... READ MORE WHEN THE BOOK COMES OUT.

A Story I Never Saw Coming

Finding out I was pregnant with my second son was nothing short of devastating. It wasn’t joy I felt first, it was disbelief. The kind that knocks the wind out of you. The kind that leaves you staring into space, wondering how life could ask you to carry one more thing when your hands already feel full.

I had just begun to find my footing after so many unexpected twists and turns, so many losses, so much rebuilding. I wasn’t ready. Not for this. Not again.

I remember sitting in the doctor’s office, stunned. And all I could say, with a trembling voice, was:

“Check again.”

But I was.

And despite the fear, the confusion, and the overwhelming uncertainty, there he was, King Jordan. My baby boy. Mommy's Pooh. A heartbeat I didn’t know I needed. A life I wasn’t ready for, but now can’t imagine my world without.

This book tells our story. The story of miraculous events, and starting over again. Of navigating the emotional terrain between fear and fierce protection. Of what it means to carry hope again, even when it arrives wrapped in the unexpected.

To any mother who has ever struggled to embrace a pregnancy she didn’t plan, or feared a future she hadn’t pictured, this is for you. You are not alone. And neither was I.