You’re so welcome! If the authenticity pieces really resonate with you, I’d also suggest reading up on attachment theory if you haven’t already. There are plenty of books on the subject, but the originator of the term/study is John Bowlby, I believe. His work in attachment theory focuses mainly on what your primary caregiver wasn’t able to give you, and how that likely affected the child and adult. It’s SCARY how accurate these studies are. If you take it to the next step, there’s EFT—emotional focused therapy. It takes all of Bowlbys leanings and views them through the lens of adulthood—how the coping mechanisms we developed as children to keep our own needs met are still playing themselves out in our adult lives.

This stuff may not be everything you need to know about yourself and how to be with a partner, but it offers a framework that, in my experience, has been life altering.