Cherilyn > Cherilyn's Quotes

“Sometimes, when I walk through a church, I feel like the Persuader is stalking me, but I break its spell by breaking the rules. I chew gum and gossip during the sermon to remind myself that I’m free.”
― Cherilyn Christen Clough, To UnEat An Elephant: A Memoir

“On my first day of freedom, I decided to do something Daddy would never do—get a job. All my life, I’d wanted to live like normal people. From what I could tell, employment was the dividing line between my family and normal people.”
― Cherilyn Christen Clough, To UnEat An Elephant: A Memoir

“After growing up in isolation without any close friends, my family was everything to me.”
― Cherilyn Christen Clough, To UnEat An Elephant: A Memoir

“Winter was coming, and I felt guilty living in a comfortable house with modern conveniences while my family struggled in a rustic cabin. I lay awake at night wondering if my siblings were warm enough or if Momma had enough money for food.”
― Cherilyn Christen Clough, To UnEat An Elephant: A Memoir

“I thought about all the times Daddy had decided to move and disrupt Momma’s plans to set up a home. She couldn’t see it, or she wouldn’t admit it, and I didn’t like her ignoring the truth. I stared out the window at the miniature trees and sighed quietly. I felt like I needed to return to college before I became stunted like Momma and those trees.”
― Cherilyn Christen Clough, To UnEat An Elephant: A Memoir

“I wanted to be like normal people so much that I tricked myself into thinking that what I didn't talk about never happened.”
― Cherilyn Christen Clough, To UnEat An Elephant: A Memoir

“If anyone ever tries to tell you that Thanksgiving is all about the food, don't you dare believe them, sure, some people will try to make it about the food, but it's really about love, respect, and gratitude. Without those ingredients, you might as well be serving cardboard.”
― Cherilyn Christen Clough, To UnEat An Elephant: A Memoir

“My siblings might be too young to remember her, but I’d known two Mommas. The first Momma had been an idealist who organized our home and planned for birthdays, holidays, and school projects. The second Momma had emerged slowly out of the turmoil of constant moving and living without running water and electricity. The latter Momma had conceded her idealism by making do with what we had. While I barely knew the first Momma, I'd seen just enough of her to miss her.”
― Cherilyn Christen Clough, Chasing Eden

“Daddy was an idea man who never quite found a way to make a living with his ideas, but I never doubted his love for Momma. At the same time, I looked around the cabin with its fence-like walls and felt sorry for Momma; she deserved better than to have spiders and mice going through her stuff.”
― Cherilyn Christen Clough, Chasing Eden

“Kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.”
― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft