“One of the best things Dr. G. told me was that I didn't have to judge every new situation I encountered. Living alone, for example. She said I didn't have to say that living alone was good or bad, I could just live alone and not make a judgement on it.”

“I write because I am alone and move through the world alone. No one will know what has passed through me... I write because there are stories that people have forgotten to tell, because I am a woman trying to stand up in my life... I write out of hurt and how to make hurt okay; how to make myself strong and come home, and it may be the only real home I'll ever have.”

“I want to tell you that I have made progress, capital P Progress. I want to tell you that I am better. I am great.”

“Living alone, you can do so many fantastic things I’ve learned. You can like, walk around and have so many conversations with yourself and sing your thoughts. I think I’m the only one that does that…”

“You live and then you die, I thought. It's good to have some good times.”

“All I know is it feels good to cry that hard. It's like cleaning the leaves out from the gutters. If the leaves sit there too long, they weigh on the metal and hurt the house.”

“Those antidepressants Dr. Huang gave her were some kind of miracle drug. I considered giving them a try, but I didn't think they'd work for me. I had no cause to be happy. I felt sad with good reason, and it wouldn't be right to mess with that feeling. I thought I ought to just stay sad for a while.”