It’s true that I never wanted to grow up. But how important was it really – to have decided to be human?

Nothing existed outside ourselves and school. For us, the world of politics, social revolution, the war in Vietnam never happened.

I have always been intrigued by the journals that girls keep. They are like dollhouses. Once you look inside them, the rest of the world seems very far away, even unbelievable.

Childhood – even a sad childhood – eventually becomes a place we think we’ve dreamed or stumbled across and want to find again, but never can.

Some days I wonder how I’ll get through a whole lifetime of thinking. A life that’s just words, words, words, shuffling around in my head. Was I born that way?

You don’t know where you are or where your dreams end and the world begins.

If I know something, I am not a victim. Victims don’t know the meaning of their suffering. I am an enemy or a collaborator, not a victim.

Why should I be sad? Everyone has to die. If you have a body, it’s too late to cry. It’s only funerals I can’t stand.

Voor iedereen die zich afvraagt of het mogelijk is de puberteit te overleven, is een bevestigend antwoord de enige geruststelling die ik kan geven.

If I know something, I am not a victim. Victims don't know the meaning of their suffering. I am an enemy or a collaborator, not a victim.