Splitting the Difference: A Heart-Shaped Memoir [Paperback]

Widowed at 34, Tre Miller Rodriguez finds New York life difficult to bear, so she sets off to travel the world, her husband's ashes in hand. This spontaneous act becomes a self-searching journey,one that ultimately brings Rodriguez to reunite with the daughter she gave up for adoption at 18.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 inManhattan Magazine, and on The Daily Beast and WhiteElephantInTheRoom.com. This is her first book.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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28l.