A Hymn to Life Quotes

“Shame must change sides.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides

“Love is not dead, I am not dead, I still have faith in people. Once that was my greatest weakness, now it is my strength, my revenge.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides

“It's not courage, but willpower and determination to change this patriarchal and sexist society.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides

“a menina que nada nem ninguém jamais conseguiu consolar, nem o amor, nem a amizade, nem a maternidade.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, Um hino à vida: A vergonha precisa mudar de lado

“I am not fighting the truth, but the fall.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides

“And yet the feeling persists: love is not dead. I am not dead. I still have faith in people. Once, that was my greatest weakness. Now it is my strength. My revenge.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides

“my entire life had fallen apart, but I was fine.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, A Hymn to Life: Shame Has to Change Sides

“Me he pasado la vida llenando el silencio con música, he combatido el insomnio con la radio y he rellenado los huecos del día a día cocinando, ordenando la casa y persiguiendo el polvo, las migas, el desorden, las arrugas y las malas hierbas, seguro que parezco una maniática, pero limpiar es fundamental para mí, el más mínimo grano de arena podría echarlo todo a perder y los miedos de una niña podrían alcanzarme.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, Un himno a la vida: Mi historia

“But what’s the point of going in search of a life I never had, trying to pinpoint the moment I took a wrong turn? I understand only too well the sequence of events that led to our first meeting, which was so powerful that I found myself talking about it in the office of Deputy Sergeant Perret as if it had been just the day before. There’s no point getting lost in regret.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides

“Today, looking back on the moment I made the decision, I am aware that had I been twenty years younger, I probably wouldn’t have dared request that the case be heard in open court. I would have been too afraid of the looks: those damn looks that women of my generation have always had
to contend with; those damn looks that make you waver in the morning between a dress and trousers, that follow you or ignore you, flatter you or embarrass you; those damn looks that seem to tell you who you are or what you’re worth, only to forsake you as you age. It was exactly that nerve
Dominique pressed when he told me I should be glad my husband still desired me whenever he photographed me coming out of the bathroom. I
was, no doubt, still susceptible to it. It’s foolish, but that’s how we were freer, more autonomous women, yet still afraid of being abandoned, still
longing to be saved. Maybe the shame lifts once you hit seventy and no one looks at you any more. I don’t know. I wasn’t afraid of my wrinkles or my body.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides

“Un combat commençait dans ma tête. Celui de l'ombre et de la lumière. De l'étincelle de notre rencontre, j'avais fait une flamme. Fallait-il souffler dessus ? L'éteindre pour de bon, comme le semblaient réclamer mes enfants ?”
― Gisèle Pelicot, A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides

“Non salvavo lui, salvavo me. Così sono riuscita ad andare verso un’elaborazione del lutto che la rabbia non consente. La rabbia blocca tutto. Il pensiero, le emozioni. Qualunque possibilità di rasserenarsi.”
― Gisèle Pelicot, A Hymn to Life: Shame has to Change Sides