The Glass Castle

The particular guilt of a well-behaved person in a police state.

I am a person who feels guilty for crimes I have not committed, or have not committed in years. The police search the train station for a serial rapist and I cover my face with a newspaper, wondering if maybe I did it in my sleep. The last thing I stole was an eight-track tape, but to this day I’m unable to enter a store without feeling like a shoplifter. It’s all the anxiety with none of the free stuff.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim · David Sedaris

What a parent's accent does to the shape of a sentence.

My mother is from Cairo, Georgia. This makes everything she says sound like it went through a curling iron. Other people sound flat to my ear; their words just hang in the air. But when my mother says something, the ends curl.

Running with Scissors · Augusten Burroughs

What the anger is doing for you, and what it spares you.

I’m becoming an angry person with no tolerance for anyone. I’m aware of this shift and yet have no desire to change it. If anything, I want it. It’s armor. It’s easier to be angry than to feel to pain underneath it.

I'm Glad My Mom Died · Jennette McCurdy