One for Sorrow (Isabel Fielding, #1)

by Sarah A. Denzil

Children need love and care. They need to form an attachment. When a child fails to form an attachment with a caregiver, they fail to learn empathy. That’s how you build a sociopath.

When you’re poor, shame comes as naturally as breathing, but unlike breathing, you never get used to it.

“You are allowed to be interested in murder. You are allowed to wonder why these people committed these crimes. We’re all fascinated by it. You’re not a bad person for wanting to learn more.”

It was a constant source of shame to me that I’d never fought back whenever I found myself cornered by a bully. Not everyone has it in them to deal out violence in response to violence. Not everyone has that kind of strength. And over the years, as the shame worked its way down into my very core, it made me believe that I was never good enough and that I deserved it.

No one with an unbroken spirit can truly be a victim. They can hurt you physically and emotionally, but you’re no one’s victim if you remain in possession of your whole self. Of your willpower. Why has it taken me so long to realise that?