Quotes by Ellen Bass

26 quotes found

Common Themes

“Dead ButterflyBy Ellen BassFor months my daughter carried a dead monarch in a quart mason jar. To and from school in her backpack, to her only friends house. At the dinner table it sat like a guest...”

— Ellen Bass

arresting-ends free-verse regrets

“Healing isn’t just about pain. It’s about learning to love yourself. As you move from feeling like a victim to being a proud survivor, you will have glimmers of hope, pride and satisfaction. Those ...”

— Ellen Bass, The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

abuse-recovery abuse-survivors child-sexual-abuse-survivor healing

“People don’t need to be forced to grow. All we need is favorable circumstances: respect, love, honesty, and the space to explore.”

— Ellen Bass, The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

growth healing recovery

“There is comfort in knowing that you don’t have to pretend anymore, that you are going to do everything within your power to heal.”

— Ellen Bass, Beginning to Heal

child-sexual-abuse healing pretending

“If you’ve managed to do one good thing,the ocean doesn’t care.But when Newton’s applefell toward the earth,the earth, ever so slightly, felltoward the apple as well.”

— Ellen Bass

apple earth falling newton

“As survivors, we’ve been conditioned to be victims sexually. Many of us have never learned to say no or to set limits on our sexual activities...To heal, it’s important that we take control, that w...”

— Ellen Bass, The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

child-sexual-abuse-survivor recovery-from-abuse sexuality