The belief that specific people are reliably safe, honest, and won't harm you —and that you can trust your own perceptions.

Does this sound familiar?

You notice inconsistencies quickly, and you remember them.

You keep relationships a little guarded or practical, even good ones.

Asking for help feels harder than doing it all yourself.

You sometimes doubt whether what you saw or felt was real.

This isn't a flaw in you.

It's a need — one every human has — that may not have been fully met. What hurt you wasn't only about

what happened. It was about what was missing. And the way you've learned to cope makes sense.

The questions worth asking:

• When did you learn that people might not mean what they say?

• What would it have taken, back then, to feel like you could lean?

• Why does steadiness from others sometimes feel harder to believe than chaos?

These are exactly the questions Missing Pieces walks you through — where this need went unmet, what you

were actually looking for, and what you can do to meet it now.

Where to go next:

The core-needs signature series — Missing Pieces (the past), Bad Blood (the present), and Good Company (the future). Three little books with a lotta power.

Ask Sara — you're on the list now (don’t worry, you can unsubscribe at anytime.) I’ll send you a few letters written for people whose missing piece is safety, and you can reply anytime with a question. Emails to the broader group normally go out only once a week, unless there’s a special reason for more.