I am thirty-four, and my life up to now has been most traumatic. After a small argument, my best friend of twelve years won’t speak to me anymore despite all my efforts to explain myself to her. I am living abroad alone, trying to get into a school of higher education with no resources from my family, whom I’m estranged from. My father completely disowned me, and my brothers ignore me. The man to whom I am attracted does not meet my expectations. I feel desperate. I am in therapy to try to overcome all the pain that I have experienced. What else can I do to shift my life?
— Desperate in Paris