“The quiet but inexorable breaking down of self-esteem is much more sinister - it’s violation of the soul.” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“She searched her mind for a single day when it had felt good to be alive. There must have been one, surely?” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“Why were people always driven to be something they were not, spending their early years wanting to look older and their later years striving… — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“A radio was playing quietly. Nobody was listening. It was there to drown out the silence.” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“think children need that joy in their lives. If they exist in a world where they are forever watching their parents tiptoeing around each… — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“Each time he came he would twist my defenceless body into a different pose, as if I were his very own doll” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“One of the women was a natural bitch – all women recognise them, but men rarely do.” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“The waiting – the uncertainty and the frustration of being unable to do anything – is unbearable.” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“now. Put the past behind you and think of it as somewhere you once visited, and possibly didn’t like very much. “Do” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“It was as if she would never be whole until the secrets of the past were exposed.” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“When shame is your own, it’s hard enough to bear. When other people are witness to it, it becomes intolerable.” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“Today is the day after my wedding. And nothing is the way I expected it to be.” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“Even those we’ve loved all our lives are highly unlikely to be perfect.” — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
“Have you ever looked obsession in the face, Chief Inspector? Strip away the mask of normality, and it’s a hideous, contorted serpent that lurks… — Rachel Abbott Copy Share Image
