If mothers are our first teachers, then having a narcissistic one teaches us that human closeness is terrifying, and the world is a heartless, inconsistent place. Koren Zailckas Read Quote
What makes a narcissistic mother so scary? Her absolute power and controlling influence. A narcissistic mother is your only ‘friend,’ at least until you’re old enough to go to school. Koren Zailckas Read Quote
I grew up in a family that despised displays of strong emotion, rage in particular. We stewed. We sulked. When arguments did occur, they were full-scale conniptions, and we regarded them as family failings. Afterward, we withdrew from one another and tried our best to strike the event from our memories. Koren Zailckas Read Quote
I think statistics go in one ear and out the other. All of us respond to stories more than numbers. Koren Zailckas Read Quote
I have been a ballerina, a cheerleader and a sorority girl. I was the girliest girl alive. Koren Zailckas Read Quote
I think when you’re 14 years old, I think you’re sort of looking for markers that prove you’re an adult and you’re independent of your parents. Koren Zailckas Read Quote
I grew up in a family that despised displays of strong emotion, rage in particular. We stewed. We sulked. When arguments did occur, they were full-scale conniptions, and we regarded them as family failings. Koren Zailckas Read Quote
I don’t know where the idea originated that memoir writing is cathartic. For me, it’s always felt like playing my own neurosurgeon, sans anesthesia. As a memoirist, you have to crack your head open and examine every uncomfortable thing in there. Koren Zailckas Read Quote
I think, for one, we have to really accept that anger is a normal human emotion that can be a positive force for change. Koren Zailckas Read Quote
Reading Poe was like a near-death experience, the kind that makes you feel fragile and free in its wake. I felt almost as though I’d scared myself alive. Koren Zailckas Read Quote
