couldn’t force himself to be something he was not. He couldn’t force either part of himself away. He’d learned long ago that you did not gain power over yourself by denying what you were. You had to accept and hold close the various parts of yourself, the gorgeous and the ugly alike. Then, and only then, could you choose how much to indulge your various impulses. By pretending part of you didn’t exist, you had no control at all.
