Ask Polly

Ask Polly

'I've Always Been Codependent and Now I'm Alone'

Don't cheapen what you found along the way.

Heather Havrilesky
Sep 22, 2021
∙ Paid
58
17
Share
Petunia No. 2 (1924) by Georgia O’Keeffe

Dear Polly,

When you wrote to “I can’t stop being perfect,” I cried and cried on the steps of the New York Public Library. When I was 13, my mother was murdered in broad daylight on a jogging trail near my house. It was a thing your worst nightmares are made of, and in the span of a few hours, I went from a happy l…

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Heather Havrilesky
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture