“Her smile didn't mean her suffering was over, but when it appeared it was something beautiful to see; a rare flower.”

“A bulimic person's shame may lead her to try to hide not only her eating-disorder behaviors but also her basic needs and yearnings. She may wish that her needs and desires did not exist and may try...”

“A bulimic person may be so disconnected from her experience that she does not even know what she needs or wants. If she does not know, needing something or someone only confirms her sense that she ...”

“Yet because her needs and yearnings are real and pressing, she must find some way to express them: she puts into body what she cannot yet put into words. Her eating disorder serves as her voice, he...”

“I hurt myself, Syren bit out. I make myself bleed and it feels good. It eases the pressure inside me, but it never lasts for long. His lips trembled. Before I slept in your bed, Id never had a full...”

“Look. I have a strategy. Why expect anything? If you dont expect anything, you dont get disappointed.”

“I tried cutting myself to express my heartbreak over Tommy (Lord Flood) rejecting me, but OMFG it hurts like flaming fuck.”

“Oftentimes, especially during my recovery, I didnt need to think about everything I was doing wrong; instead, I needed to focus more on what I was doing rightand then do more of the right stuff. I ...”

“Ironically, this physically weak feeling signifies that Im actually getting stronger. I know from my past that I will ultimately feel strong if I just sit with the feeling and experience it.”

“In the past, my brain could only compute perfection or failurenothing in between. So words like competent, acceptable, satisfactory, and good enough fell into the failure category. Even above avera...”