--- title: "3 Abandonment Quotes By Melissa Febos" description: "3 Abandonment quotes by Melissa Febos. Plus more from Melissa Febos and more Abandonment sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/melissa-febos-7449_abandonment_i-think-trauma-gets-a-reductive-treatmen_1288990.png" --- > [I think trauma gets a reductive treatment. We tend to think only violence or molestation or total abandonment qualify as "childhood trauma,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-think-trauma-gets-a-reductive-treatment-we-tend-to-think-only/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/melissa-febos-7449_abandonment_i-think-trauma-gets-a-reductive-treatmen_1288990.png) > [“My mother relates to the world through a permeable membrane. She can imagine herself in a different life and has recast herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/my-mother-relates-to-the-world-through-a-permeable-membrane-she-can/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/melissa-febos-7449_abandonment_my-mother-relates-to-the-world-through-a_2353778.jpg) > [Abandonment by a lover won't kill us. But it awakens the parts of us that remember when it could.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/abandonment-by-a-lover-won-t-kill-us-but-it-awakens-the-parts-of-us/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be7/melissa-febos-7449_abandonment_abandonment-by-a-lover-won-t-kill-us-but_2427979.png) ## Other authors on Abandonment - [Craig D. Lounsbrough 8 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/craig-d-lounsbrough/) ## More by Melissa Febos > [Letting go of the cozy stories you've been carrying around is devastating. But there's more room for new stuff after you do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/letting-go-of-the-cozy-stories-you-ve-been-carrying-around-is/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [When you conceal inner reality, this pressure builds. You often don't expose yourself until it reaches extremity, a breaking point, and what emerges is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/when-you-conceal-inner-reality-this-pressure-builds-you-often-don-t/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [I can only see right in front of me when I'm writing, you know? I never think of it as raw or personal or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-can-only-see-right-in-front-of-me-when-i-m-writing-you-know-i-never/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [“I have always been afraid to have children. I didn't want to give them the parts of me--the hurtling hunger, the shame--but now I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-have-always-been-afraid-to-have-children-i-didn-t-want-to-give-them/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [“There are still times when he and I fall into our respective labyrinths. I no longer believe that anyone but ourselves can lead us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/there-are-still-times-when-he-and-i-fall-into-our-respective/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [I think we all are born inside of our parents' narratives. We stay there for a good while. We are taught their narratives about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-think-we-all-are-born-inside-of-our-parents-narratives-we-stay/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [“Maybe that's all bravery is: when your hunger is greater than your fear. I resist the implication that bravery is noble. I must face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/maybe-that-s-all-bravery-is-when-your-hunger-is-greater-than-your/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [“I have always enjoyed watching women dress. The appeal isn't sexual. Most girls' first glimpse of private female life is watching their mothers dress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-have-always-enjoyed-watching-women-dress-the-appeal-isn-t-sexual/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [“It was the first time anyone had broken up with me. It was a thing I had successfully avoided for thirty-two years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/it-was-the-first-time-anyone-had-broken-up-with-me-it-was-a-thing-i/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [I can still discern people's weaknesses, but it doesn't make me want to exploit them; it makes me want to hug them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-can-still-discern-people-s-weaknesses-but-it-doesn-t-make-me-want/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [“There is a moment in your 20s when you know what it means to love rightly, but not how to do it, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/there-is-a-moment-in-your-20s-when-you-know-what-it-means-to-love/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [“The labyrinth, after all, is Sarah's creation. She calls upon the Goblin King. And this is the biggest difference between my brother's afflictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/the-labyrinth-after-all-is-sarah-s-creation-she-calls-upon-the-goblin/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [“I want to tell her that darkness is not bad. It is only the place we can't see yet.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-want-to-tell-her-that-darkness-is-not-bad-it-is-only-the-place-we/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [I made a conscious decision when I was writing that book to depict in real time how I treated it, and how I thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-made-a-conscious-decision-when-i-was-writing-that-book-to-depict-in/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) > [“I only wanted to know where I ended and everything else began, and I still do, in these oceanic days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-febos/i-only-wanted-to-know-where-i-ended-and-everything-else-began-and-i/) [Melissa Febos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-febos/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/melissa-febos/#itemlist", "name": "3 Abandonment Quotes By Melissa Febos", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think trauma gets a reductive treatment. 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