“When shame is met with compassion and not received as conrmation of our guilt, we can begin to see how slant a lens it has had us looking through. That awareness lets us step back far enough to see...”

“Power is confusing for us, perhaps even terrifying, because our relationship with it had an unfortunate beginning. Someone in a position of power over us used and abused usIt seems as if power were...”

“When we first begin to take power more directly, after long having kept our relationship to it underground...it is natural that we experience anxiety, even guilt, at putting ourselves first. These ...”

“In the grief that comes with recognizing what happened to us, we often feel there is nowhere to turn for solaceWe do things to keep it away, such as becoming overly busy or using drugs or alcohol t...”

“As we move away from the old role in which we were helplessly entrapped as a victim, we make friends with the people who affirm us. Their enthusiasm about us mirrors the positive experience we are ...”

“Because we were treated neglectfully and abusively in our young yearswhen we most needed self-love to be mirroredit was difficult to hold ontoWe take up the challenge of learning to love ourselves,...”

“Stop looking for that person you were in the past. She has changed. Look for the person she has grown into. She is wiser and stronger than than ever before. Don't go back to who you were. Cherish w...”

“Closeness was the promise of suffering and pain”

“In spite of the horror, in spite of the tragedy, in spite of the weeks of sleepless nights, I'm finally alive. I'm not pretending. I feel real. I'm not playing charades anymore. I wouldn't go back ...”

“once sailed neither the ship nor the shore ever remains the same again.”

“We are not trapped or locked up in these bones. No, no. We are free to change. And love changes us. And if we can love one another, we can break open the sky.”

“One day spent with someone you love can change everything.”

“Baby you dont even know Im falling apartIn your fun and games, Youve stolen my heart.”

“Sometimes, you simply must give yourself permission to fall apart.”

“I guess the whole world is made up of things coming together and things falling apart,”