“My past has shaped me, that's true of anyone.”

“My past is no secret to anyone. I'm a blackguard and a sinner, and everyone knows it. These days, that's almost an asset to being a politician.”

“I have things in my head that are not like what anyone taught me — shapes and ideas so near to me, so natural to my way of being and thinking.”

“My past has not defined me, destroyed me, deterred me, or defeated me; it has only strengthened me.”

“Whatever has happened in someone's past, the future is theirs to shape. The first step is to find a way out.”

“I said to myself, I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me - shapes and ideas so near to me - so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down. I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught. ”