I had always been in love with him. I counted the lashes of each closed eye. He had been my almost, my might have been, and I did not want to leave him

He was beginning to understand: You were treated special and, later, something horrible would be told to you.

Those who say they would rather fight to the death than be raped are fools. I would rather be raped a thousand times. You do what you have to.

In my 20s, I railed against anything 'spiritual', I thought it was all crap.

If I shut my eyes, I believed, I would disappear. To make it through, I had to be present the whole time.

The damage can fester under layers of time and change, and an ignorant, thoughtless remark can easily reopen the wound.

People grow up by living.