"In therapy, I was encouraged to console my inner child. It was excruciating. That kid felt so ashamed that I couldn't even get close to her. The thought herself unworthy of anyone's love. Maybe the sense I have of being cut off from others comes from the deep hole of that shame.

I used to think that we call victims of incest 'survivors' because they've come through it alive. In no way did I identify with the word survivor. It was too strong. I didn't feel like I'd come close to death. But now I understand it differently. We depend on others for love and recognition. Also for warm and food, just like mammals. For survival."
*
"She hadn't learned what she wanted from love, nor what a boundary was. She was surviving."
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Beautifully executed in words yet still kind of distracting when it comes to the art itself: the illustrations are more like a compilation of all the things that had been created but they didn't add up many layers for the writing. I finished the book and felt like something was still missing - it is still incomplete because the writer is still at the beginning of a chapter of her life, and there are still so many things to ponder.