I feel in some ways I've had a difficult life. And it makes me the kind of writer I am, in what I value, what I respect, what I hold dear.
Melissa BankDuring chemo, you're more tired than you've ever been. It's like a cloud passing over the sun, and suddenly you're out. But you also find that you're stronger than you've ever been. You're clear. Your mortality is at optimal distance, not up so close that it obscures everything else, but close enough to give you depth perception. Previously, it has taken you weeks, months, or years to discover the meaning of an experience. Now it's instantaneous.
Melissa BankYou can feel that he wants to own you - not like an object but like a good dream he wants to keep having. He lets you know that you already own him.
Melissa BankHe gives me a kiss that barely touches my lips โ it means nothing or everything. After heโs gone, I think, Happy birthday to me. Jack says, โThat was the guy?โ โThat was him.โ Jake shakes his head. โWhat?โ โHeโs not for you,โ he says. I say, โHow do you know?โ but what I mean is, How do you know? โHeโs like Ashley Wilkes,โ he says. โAny one of these guys is Rhett-ier than he is.โ Again, I ask my benignly inflected, โHow do you know?โ โHow do I know?โ he says, tackling me into a bear hug. โHow do I know? I know, thatโs how I know.
Melissa Bank