Sam

“It’s never enough, is it? Time. We always think we have so much of it, but when it really counts, we don’t have enough at all.”
― T.J. Klune, Under the Whispering Door

“She took care of me and my brothers, I’m sure that was really hard for her.’

‘That was her job.’

I feel interrogated, like I can’t say the right thing. I speed up, trying to explain myself.

‘Well, but I mean this was different from most parents.’ Shit. I hated how that came out.

‘How so?’

I pause to compose myself. Laura won’t rattle me. I speak in an even, measured tone.

‘She sacrificed everything for me. She constantly went without so she could take care of me. She put me first, ahead of herself.’

‘Hmm. And do you think that’s healthy?’

What kind of fresh hell is this? What is this impossible-to-ace quiz? I have no idea how I’m supposed to be answering to make Mom look good.”
― Jennette McCurdy, I'm Glad My Mom Died

“I am but paper. Brittle and thin. I am held up to the sun, and it shines right through me. I get written on, and I can never be used again. These scratches are a history. They’re a story. They tell things for others to read, but they only see the words, and not what the words are written upon. I am but paper, and though there are many like me, none are exactly the same. I am parched parchment. I have lines. I have holes. Get me wet, and I melt. Light me on fire, and I burn. Take me in hardened hands, and I crumple. I tear. I am but paper. Brittle and thin.”
― T.J. Klune, The House in the Cerulean Sea

“Maybe I feel this way now because I viewed my mom that way for so long. I had her up on a pedestal, and I know how detrimental that pedestal was to my well-being and life. That pedestal kept me stuck, emotionally stunted, living in fear, dependent, in a near constant state of emotional pain and without the tools to even identify that pain let alone deal with it. My mom didn't deserve her pedestal. She was a narcissist. She refused to admit she had any problems, despite how destructive those problems were to our entire family.”
― Jennette McCurdy, I'm Glad My Mom Died