Reading is socially accepted disassociation. You flip a switch and youโre not there anymore. Itโs better than heroin. More effective and cheaper and legal.
Mary KarrI kept the fingers of my left hand crossed all the time, while on my right-hand fingers I counted anything at allโsteps to the refrigerator, seconds on the clock, words in a sentenceโto keep my head occupied. The counting felt like something to hang on to, as if finding the right numbers might somehow crack the code on whatever system ran the slippery universe we were moving through.
Mary KarrI tell people not to write too soon about their lives. Writing about yourself too young is loaded with psychological complexities.
Mary KarrWhen I got sober, I thought giving up was saying goodbye to all the fun and all the sparkle, and it turned out to be just the opposite. That's when the sparkle started for me.
Mary Karr