Mishell Baker > Quotes

“Why is some accident of uncontrolled neurochemistry the ‘real me,’ and a carefully reasoned system of priorities somehow false?”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“Suicide is not a way of ending pain; it's just a way of redistributing it.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“Even if what you said was true, that only makes it worse. Truth should be left in wrapped boxes for people to open when they’re ready. When it’s used as a blade, they vacuum-seal the pain somewhere deep inside, sealing the truth in with it, until it’s time to turn it inside out and cut someone else. I”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“He started the car, looking irked, as though I had started crying on purpose. Men seem to think that women do this on a regular basis, which is bullshit. Just because you don't feel something, it doesn't mean the other person is faking it. You know who thinks like that? Sociopaths.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“I love people randomly and suddenly, and it’s a curse most of the time.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“Hear me out. The idea of 'radical acceptance' is that sometimes in order to reduce suffering, you have to stop fighting the situation and do the counterintuitive thing. Wholeheartedly embrace reality, spiky bits and all.”
― Mishell Baker, Phantom Pains

“Suicide is not a way of ending pain, it's just a way to redistributing it.”
― Mishell Baker

“All right, so if the Unseelie horde does come through Gate LA4, what exactly am I supposed to do?"
"Die horribly. But swiftly, I'd think. They'll be eager to get on with their world conquest."
"Okeydokey then. Thanks for the heads up.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“Life doesn't fit the Hollywood formula; there are no act breaks to orient you, no running times printed helpfully on the back of the box. So you do your best to line up each shot, each frame. You make sure that if this shot ends up being the last, it's damn well going to be bold or bittersweet or beautiful enough to go out on.”
― Mishell Baker, Impostor Syndrome

“Here’s the thing, Brian. From across the room, I’ll admit death looks like a real babe. But I’ve been close enough to see what’s under her makeup, and no thanks. Really.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“Beneath your pain, the foundation of you is love, has always been. Even when people are unworthy of it, you give love with your whole heart. Even if it tears you to pieces.”
― Mishell Baker, Impostor Syndrome

“He put an arm around me and helped me across the lawn into the passenger's seat. The inside was red and white as a strawberry sundae, with black analog gauges. It was inefficient and sprawling; it screamed of hubris and excess and obsolescence; it was America on wheels.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“I don't think that the instant desperate attachment Borderlines feel really counts as love, but I had never felt any other kind of love, so I didn't know.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“Do what you're supposed to do, regardless of what you're feeling. Regardless of whether it feels right or wrong in the moment. Ignore your thoughts. Just Do the Thing.”
― Mishell Baker, Phantom Pains

“You are not going to lose me," said Claybriar. "I don't want to put you through that."

"Is that a promise?" I said, and then immediately realized what I'd asked. I held my hand up in front of his mouth even as he drew breath to answer. "No," I said. "Don't bind yourself. Just do your best to stay alive; that's enough for me."

It was a little dizzying to realize that he'd been willing to promise me that he'd never leave me, and that unlike the others in my past he'd be bound to that promise. It was tempting, in a dark sort of way. But I wouldn't let him do it any more than I'd let him chain himself in the hold of a sinking ship.”
― Mishell Baker, Phantom Pains

“There's a saying that somebody tilted this country on its end, and everything that wasn't securely attached fell into California.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“Hey,” I whispered. “What if we find his body in there or something?” “I think standard procedure is to make a bad pun and put on sunglasses.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“Apparently PTSD and grief flunked out of the same charm school; neither of them seems to know when it's cool to drop by.”
― Mishell Baker, Phantom Pains

“In my experience, it's a bad idea to take your current boss on a job interview”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“It is interesting, having access to all of one's most irrational impulses. At times, passion for others, or for an ideal, is a source of strength.”
― Mishell Baker, Phantom Pains

“Going through international airport security with two prosthetic legs and a steel plate in your head isn't exactly a piece of cake, but it's easier than going through with a turban.”
― Mishell Baker, Phantom Pains

“I'll admit, there are few highs quite like using words to turn your enemies into a stack of bloody cubes. But then you cool off, and that stack of minced flesh doesn't just hop back together into a whole person. Long after you quit feeling that glorious rage, your words linger.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“You must stop telling yourself what will be the end of you. You do not know what you can survive until it is done.”
― Mishell Baker, Phantom Pains

“I know how bored and resteless fyou must feel when you have no one on whom to focus your passion. It's why Teo's dismissal enraged you; he was your best candidate."
pg. 104”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“I know how bored and restless you must feel when you have no one on whom to focus your passion. It's why Teo's dismissal enraged you; he was your best candidate."
pg. 104”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline

“One of the first things you learn as a Borderline is that the only way to keep any friends is to act as though you’re not feeling what you’re feeling at least 30 percent of the time. I”
― Mishell Baker, Phantom Pains

“Absence of emotion is not maturity," she said, "though it's easy to mistake. Part of maturity is learning to deprioritize emotion, prevent it from taking the reins. But a large part is perspective, long-term decision making.”
― Mishell Baker, Phantom Pains

“I was like Tarzan reaching for another vine. So I grabbed.”
― Mishell Baker, Borderline