We're told that men are strong & brave, but I think women know how to endure, accept defeat & bear physical & mental agony much better than men.

People come in and out of our lives, and the true test of friendship is whether you can pick back up right where you left off the last time you saw each other.

People say you need to be strong, smart, and lucky to survive hard times, war, a natural disaster, or physical torture. But I say emotional abuse—anxiety, fear, guilt, and degradation—is far worse and much harder to survive.

When you don’t have much, having less isn’t so bad.

And one of the interesting things about bound feet is that they never age.

Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.

When I knew I couldn't suffer another moment of pain, and tears fell on my bloody bindings, my mother spoke softly into my ear, encouraging me to go one more hour, one more day, one more week, reminding me of the rewards I would have if I carried on a little longer. In this way, she taught me how to endure — not just the physical trials of footbinding and childbearing but the more torturous pain of the heart, mind, and soul.