Lily knows she is easier to love in small doses.
Wellness Influencer, Lily Long, appears to have it all together now. A decade ago she left her small town and her teen-marriage behind, starting over…and over…and over. Searching for a place to belong she’s constantly trying to to fit the expectations others seem to have of her.
River knows old secrets could destroy his chances with the one who got away.
River Hendrix is an anxious shell of his old goofball self. After taking over the family business from his ailing father, he has worked diligently to prove he’s worthy and capable of growing their multi-generation town legacy. This single-minded pursuit might have come at the cost of his personal life, but what does it matter when the girl of his dreams left town long ago?
Now Lily is returning to Peacock Springs to celebrate their friend's engagement. Will Lily’s carefully curated facade survive the close-up scrutiny of those who love her best? Will River find the confidence to admit to her how he’s always felt? Luckily their meddling friends see this opportunity to bring Lily home, help River relax, and reunite their little “fr-amily.” That is, so long as everyone can survive the fallout of the secret River’s held onto and a weird town mandate they can’t make go away.
Are they flying towards the adventure of a lifetime or just running from the past?
Content Notes:
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Writing ‘Romantic traum-com’ requires finding the humor in even the most challenging experiences. It has been said that comedy is the sum of tragedy plus time. I’ve never been great at math, so I can’t say what the correct amount of time is to laugh at something tragic. The following sensitive subjects are included directly or indirectly within the context of the story are outlined below.
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The story is an own-voices depiction of life with Inattentive ADHD. Specifically, there is a focus on:
RSD: rejection sensitivity dysphoria is when a person feels intense emotional pain related to rejection. While rejection is something people usually don’t like, the negative feelings that come with RSD can be stronger, harder to manage, or both. People with RSD are also more likely to interpret vague interactions as rejection and may find it difficult to control their reactions.
Emotional Dysregulation: when your brain can’t properly regulate the signals related to your emotions. Without that ability to manage them, it’s as if the TV volume control is stuck at a disruptively or painfully high level. In effect, emotional dysregulation is when your emotions are too loud for you to manage, causing feelings of being overwhelmed, uncomfortable or even in pain.Source:
The story includes open door sex scenes, reference to marriage immediately after high school that ends in cheating and divorce, toxic family dynamics, minor verbal abuse, and the use of alcohol and cannabis.
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