Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

When I first met Tess, I was about 15 or 16. I was young and impressionable. When Alec and Angel broke Tess's heart, they broke mine too. The anger and resentment towards Alec and Angel and the heartache for Tess was all too tangible for me. That was then.

I've come a long way since I was 16. I am no longer that fragile, impressionable girl. I've learned to become a fighter, a survivor, and a protector of my heart. Which is why Tess infuriates me. Why is she such a tragic character? She accepts these sorrows that life throws at her, as if it was her fate. Well, I'm a believer that you write your own destiny, so her actions are not okay with me!

Dear Tess,
Alec may have destroyed your body but Angel destroyed your spirit! And while what Alec did was horrible, Angel's crime is unforgivable. Love? Do you think he loved you? Wake up and smell the flowers sweetcheeks! He didn't love you! He loved the IDEA of you. Stop crying and thinking that your life is worthless. You said yourself, you are "a peasant by name, not by nature." Stop being a slave to your circumstances and become the master of your life. *snap snap snap!*
With love, your life coach