“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 and put makeup on. It makes sense that we'd find it comforting. Childhood fascinations often crystallize… — Melissa Febos Copy Share Image
I couldn't have articulated this process at the time; I just sort of did it instinctually. But now when I talk about this with my students all the time, it's one of the first things I address in memoir classes… — Melissa Febos Copy Share Image
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. — Melissa Febos Copy Share
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… — Melissa Febos Copy Share
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… — Melissa Febos Copy Share
“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… — Melissa Febos Copy Share
“There are still times when he and I fall into our respective labyrinths. I no longer believe that anyone but ourselves can lead us… — Melissa Febos Copy Share
I think we all are born inside of our parents' narratives. We stay there for a good while. We are taught their narratives about… — Melissa Febos Copy Share
“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… — Melissa Febos Copy Share
“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… — Melissa Febos Copy Share
“It was the first time anyone had broken up with me. It was a thing I had successfully avoided for thirty-two years.” — Melissa Febos Copy Share
I can still discern people's weaknesses, but it doesn't make me want to exploit them; it makes me want to hug them. — Melissa Febos Copy Share
“There is a moment in your 20s when you know what it means to love rightly, but not how to do it, and then… — Melissa Febos Copy Share
“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… — Melissa Febos Copy Share
“I want to tell her that darkness is not bad. It is only the place we can't see yet.” — Melissa Febos Copy Share
I made a conscious decision when I was writing that book to depict in real time how I treated it, and how I thought… — Melissa Febos Copy Share
“I only wanted to know where I ended and everything else began, and I still do, in these oceanic days.” — Melissa Febos Copy Share
