Wherever I look, I see signs of the commandment to honor one's parents and nowhere of a commandment that calls for the respect of a child.

The more we idealize the past and refuse to acknowledge our childhood sufferings, the more we pass them on unconsciously to the next generation.

The victimization of children is nowhere forbidden; what is forbidden is to write about it.

What is addiction, really? It is a sign, a signal, a symptom of distress. It is a language that tells us about a plight that must be understood.

For the human soul is virtually indestructible, and its ability to rise from the ashes remains as long as the body draws breath.

The reason why parents mistreat their children has less to do with character and temperament than with the fact that they were mistreated themselves and were not permitted to defend themselves.

Disrespect is the weapon of the weak

All children are born to grow, to develop, to live, to love, and to articulate their needs and feelings for their self-protection

Genuine feelings cannot be produced, nor can they be eradicated. We can only repress them, delude ourselves, and deceive our bodies. The body sticks to the facts.

We don't yet know, above all, what the world might be like if children were to grow up without being subjected to humiliation, if parents would respect them and take them seriously as people.

An unacknowledged trauma is like a wound that never heals over and may start to bleed again at any time.

It was not in me It came and wentI wanted to hold it It was held by wine(I no longer know what it was)

Are these real diamonds?" I once asked, and she said, "Why have them if they're not?

Delayed gratification is a sweet lesson whose teacher knows the best is not right now, it is yet to be.

You can tell the strength of a nation by the women behind its men.

Fear is danger to your body, but disgust is danger to your soul.

You write that first draft really to see how it's going to come out.

I prefer to leave standing up, like a well-mannered guest at a party.

[T]he historian and the detective have much in common.

You have to feel love to harness its power!

The hardest part about storytelling is knowing what happens in the end.