Table of Contents

Contents

Sunday Mourning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Dumb Sh*% People Say . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

I'm the White Elephant in the Room? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Ring on the Right Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

The Cruelest Month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Meltdowns & Melanoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Fight or Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Travel as Prozac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

(Not) Home for the Holidays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

Lost & Found in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

Thanks for the Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

Striped Shirts & Epitaphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Waking Up in Havana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Heart-Shaped Gratitude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

About the Author

Tré Miller Rodríguez was born in California and lives in New York City. An award-winning copywriter and UC Berkeley graduate, her essays have appeared in Manhattan Magazine, and on The Daily Beast and WhiteElephantInTheRoom.com. This is her first book.

Reviews

“Story of a woman turning grief into courage...Blogospheric immediacy charges the book's pages. At once touching and shockingly stark...Gripping, real.” —Publishers Weekly

“No other book entangles romance and grief in such an urgent and beautiful way. Tré Miller Rodríguez writes as she lives: with breathless poise, unmatched style and fierce bravery.”
—Claire Bidwell Smith, author of The Rules of Inheritance

“Splitting the Difference is a story of love and loss told with flair, ballsy bravado and unflinching honesty.”
—Susan Shapiro, author of 5 Men Who Broke My Heart