chrisea - Thanks for this post!
I can relate to all but 6 and 7 - but as the saying goes...take what you like and leave the rest
I love the name of the first stage because at that time I truely felt like my heart was a piece of dried up, withered, mutilated road kill. The second stage, I went from feeling to realizing my heart WAS a piece of dried up, withered, mutilated road kill. The third stage, I was angry at XABF, my parents, myself because everyone (including myself) let me down and now my heart was a piece of dried up, withered, mutilated road kill.
And of course the awesome 4th adn 5th stages where I realized my heart didn't have to be a piece of dried up, withered, mutilated road kill, I could do something about it to prevent it from happening again and found the beauty of a serene life on my own. I took ownership for stage 2, forgave myself and made a promise to never allow my heart in the hands of a toxic, unhealthy person or place myself in an unhealthy situation again.