Potent quotables
Men could be a hundred percent in their disease of alcoholism and shenanigans while they expected women to marry, to agree, to birth children, and to just get on with the business of life.
I wasn’t aware of the extent of the danger of my situation.
I knew good things existed; I had memories of better days, but sometimes it seemed as if I’d never had them at all.
Later, I learned I was not responsible for what happened when I was a kid, but I was responsible for what I did with it as an adult. That statement gave me so much power. I have decided that the seed that was planted in me will go no further. I am the one that stops the thread of abuse. There’s a lot of power in knowing that I will abuse no one: I’m going to take it right to the grave.
I understood — as it always fell to me to do
Some people think we have an obligation to stand before another and offer our forgiveness. Good manners dictate we must behave in such a way. Women should turn the other cheek. In fact, several healing modalities are centered around this kind of practice. They note it’s beneficial to do the necessary work to repair relationships with your abuser. Family is blood, and there’s some sort of biological need to seek reparation. I disagree. Wholeheartedly.
I have always found it fascinating that people who aren’t growing toward their highest potential feel responsible to psychoanalyze the people who are doing the work.
Lit review
This book took a surprising turn, I won’t lie. Still incredible and a quick read.