Is there a secret? Yes. Anaïs Nin and Pauline Réage and Anne Rampling and Erica Jong all knew it. E. L. James knows it. It is the secret behind all of our writing. And our reading. Arousal starts in the mind. And grows in the mind. The brain is the most erogenous zone in a woman’s body. That is our secret. And it is what we share.

The secret, which is not so secret after all, is that the people who we love live on in our hearts, in the beat of our blood.

There is no glory in honesty if it is destructive. And no shame in dishonesty if its goal is to offer grace.

Self-body hate, like any hate or other strong negative emotion, contributes to unneeded weight gain by triggering junk-food cravings.

Perfume is magic. It's mystery. We recreate the smell of a flower. Of wood. Of grass. We capture the essence of life. Liquefy it. We store memories. We make dreams.

Needing someone doesn't make you weak, it makes you feel. And feeling is how you know you're alive.

Sometimes love worked out, but more often it failed