In the book I talk about the first big love of my life: Bernard Levin. We met on a panel for a British TV show when I was 21. Bernard was twice my age exactly, with an encyclopedic knowledge of just about everything. We were together for almost nine years, and I was crazy about him. Around the time that I turned 30, I realized he was never going to marry me: he had no interest in children, and no interest in settling down. I was desperate to have children. I knew what I had to do, and it was the toughest, most fearless decision I’ve ever made: I left him. Not only did I leave him, but I left London as well, and moved to New York. I was terribly afraid to be on my own, especially in a new country, but I pushed through the fear, and that decision got me to where I am today.

What benefits have you gained by striking out on your own, whether in actuality or metaphorically? How has your sense of self deepened because of it?

–Arianna Huffington