Brain Damage Quotes

“He made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes. That’s why pencils have erasers, right?”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“It reminds me of the fact that I’m still the same person I was before. I’m still Charly. I’m not just some brain-damaged cripple.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“But maybe it was all worth it if it got me here.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“And even though I’m better… I still think about you. All the time, actually. Like, the first thing I think about when I wake up is what you might be doing and how I want to see you. And when I go to sleep at night, I’m excited about seeing you the next day.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“My favorite of all my therapies is speech therapy. It’s the only one I really look forward to.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“I start to wonder how much time I really have here. Where will I go after this? Sometimes it feels like I will be here forever, but I guess I won’t. This isn’t really a place people live. It’s a hospital. Nobody lives in the hospital.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“Actually,” Bridget says, her eyes brightening, “I took a picture of Chelsea’s poop yesterday because it was just so amazing.” She starts reaching for her purse. “Do you want to see?” Has my best friend completely lost her mind? “That’s all right.” Bridget’s face falls. She’s probably been waiting to show me the poop photo all day.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“need Amy to help me find my arm.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“Jamie rubs his eye and glares at me. “You think that’s funny, Helmet Girl?” “Yes,” I say. Obviously I think it’s funny. I’m laughing.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“Let me tell you something about walking with a cane: people stare. You don’t even realize how rude people can be until you’ve given them something to stare at.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“So I guess the moral is that it’s good to get shot in the head if you are a bad person.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“Does anything hurt?” “Only my pride,” I say.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“Before I’ve taken two steps into the apartment, my cat races over to me and meows loudly, then looks up at me with big, longing green-yellow eyes.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“My apartment is my haven. No matter how long and exhausting and frustrating my day is, I feel comforted when I walk into my apartment.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“back.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“No, not just hot, I want to look hawt. I want Clark to see me and do a wolf howl.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“They felt more like a chore… the obligation of trying to find another person to spend the rest of my life with. There was certainly nothing enjoyable about the forced, awkward conversations with variably attractive men.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“I’m sure this thing will come crashing down on me at some point, but I’m going to stop questioning it. I’m just going to enjoy the ride.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“Jamie’s father smiles at me. “Hi, Charly.” I don’t actually remember Jamie ever introducing his father to me, but he must have because somehow his dad knows my”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“When Natalie wheels me back to my spot in the semicircle, Jamie’s brown eyes meet mine. I expect him to make a comment on how badly I did. I would deserve it. For a lot of reasons. But he doesn’t say a word.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“So, yes. Clark and I have had sleepovers. I’m a woman in my mid-thirties—it’s hard to maintain celibacy in a relationship, even if that’s what I wanted. And I don’t want that. I mean, if you’ve been in a desert for a year, and you finally come across a stream of water, do you say, “No, I’m going to wait six months before I have any?” No way. You’d take a drink!”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“So one thing I soon realized about Walking Group is that nobody in Walking Group walks very well. It’s sort of ironic.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“When we separate for air, Jamie is looking at me in a way that no other man has ever looked at me before in my entire life. And I know this is different. He’s different. He’s the one I’ve been waiting for. “I really missed you, Helmet Girl,” he whispers. Except I’m not Helmet Girl. Not anymore.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“Please say something.” The last time he said that, I told him he needed to leave and never see me again. I guess I had more willpower back then. I can’t make myself tell him to go away this time. I’m pretty sure I’m going to just have to let this thing happen between Jamie and me. So anyway, I kiss him. In retrospect, it may have been a little bit stupid to kiss a guy without great balance when mine isn’t so good as well. We could’ve very easily ended up on the ground. I could tell he was struggling to catch himself for the first ten seconds. Luckily, he was standing with his back to the restaurant, so the glass of the window caught us.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“You wanted me to get my life back together again,” he goes on. “Well, I have. The business is doing fine. Great, even. Sam and I are great. My life is back together, as much as it ever was.” He pauses to take another deep breath. “The only thing missing is you.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“Let me tell you something about walking with a cane: people stare. You don’t even realize how rude people can be until you’ve given them something to stare at. Back when I first left the hospital, and I was still using the wheelchair a lot outdoors, you’d think my hair was on fire based on how much people stared at me. The hemi-walker attracted fewer stares, but it was still pretty bad.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“It’s not necessarily a question of vision,” Amy says. “It’s about perception. Like, for example, if I touch her on her left arm, notice how she doesn’t really respond, even though her nerves are working fine. She just doesn’t perceive that I’m touching her. She ignores any stimuli on her left side.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“That’s when I realize, to my horror, that the rapist has actually been sent to see me. They have sent him here to rape me. I guess this is part of my therapy. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex. Months. So I guess maybe they feel like part of getting better is getting back in the swing of things. Sexually.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“Kim gives me a knowing look. I remember that look, from back when I was an intern. It’s the look of a nurse who knows much better than I do.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage

“The man starts to push Jamie’s wheelchair past me, but Jamie stops him. “No,” he says again. “On her right side. I’ve got to be on her right side.” It’s nice when somebody knows you very well.”
― Freida McFadden, Brain Damage