Catherine, Called Birdy

by Karen Cushman

Know where you yourself are. How? By knowing who you are and where you come from. Just as a river by night shines with the reflected light of the moon, so too do you shine with the light of your family, your people, and your God. So you are never far from home, never alone, wherever you go.”

Ladies, it seems, seldom have strong feelings and, if they do, never never let them show. God’s thumbs! I always have strong feelings and they are quite painful until I let them out, like a cow who needs to give milk and bellows with the pain in her

The birthing/nursing metaphors, and the fact that she compares herself to farm animals constantly because she is being sold off like chattel. Brilliant.