4 Quotes by Renee Rosen

I was scared. Nothing feels solid anymore. Security had been yanked out from under me. I wanted to tell her how much I loved her. She just had to know how much. My grandfather had been old; he was supposed to die. Parents weren’t. It was in my mother’s arms when it hit me. Every day brought you that much closer to losing the ones you loved. Death would always find you, and there was nothing you could do about it.

I realized then that there are moments when life seems to be happening to you. These are those moments that you later reflect on, wondering how you survived them. Getting the injections in my eye was like that. So were the laser treatments. It was even a little like that when I lost my virginity. These are moments that change and shape you, and they’re so imposing that you can’t stay present for them. So you slip away, someplace safe inside yourself, and wait for the storm to pass.

Helen had given me permission to pursue what I wanted, and as a result, I knew myself better – what I liked, what I didn’t. Most important, I had discovered what I deserved.

That was the sort of thing she found interesting, but she wouldn’t ask again. She wouldn’t beg to be taken seriously.