My Friend Anna Quotes

“Act like you’ve been here before.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“This evening in Le Coucou reminded me that, despite any misgivings, Anna had a magical way of looking to the horizon, understanding potential, and knowing exactly when to be where.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“When it came to material possessions, Anna was pared down, but when it came to indulgent experiences, she couldn’t get enough.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“I read the headlines—Fake Heiress Anna Sorokin Says She Takes Being Branded a ‘Sociopath’ as a Compliment… Says Her Prison Sentence Was ‘a Huge Waste of Time’… Sets Her Sights on Influencerdom with a New Vlog Series. I understood the implications of this sort of coverage, the glamorization of criminality, and wondered who would speak up.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“I understand that, no matter what they say, people show you who they are through their actions. I believed that my friend Anna was a wealthy German heiress.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“Is this the only way she makes her money?” I asked Officer McCaffrey. As far as he knew, deceit was her sole source of income.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“For example: if you asked Anna about her politics, she would tell you that she was decidedly nonpolitical. Politics had little to do with power, she professed. Money was the world’s true governing force.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“In times of trauma, life unfolds in a chiaroscuro of peaks and valleys. You feel the highs and lows with amplified intensity.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna: The true story of Anna Delvey, the fake heiress of New York City

“...your attention is an investment. Giving someone your attention is the act of being influenced whether you you're aware of it in the moment. Especially in the age of constant stimulation, with endless people and stories competing for your clicks, likes, follows and time. Your attention has value, it has power. It's worth something. Be careful where you spend it and understand it and understand the cost.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna: The True Story of a Fake Heiress

“It’s hard to understand something until you’re beyond it. Only then, if you have the wherewithal and interest, can you look back and see the real shape of a thing.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“understand that, no matter what they say, people show you who they are through their actions.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“I prepared to formalize the nullification of my friendship with Anna Delvey.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“A week later, I sent my last text to Anna: Find it strange I haven’t heard anything from you, I wrote. And as sad as it was, I meant what I said.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“I felt the loss of Anna, not as she was but as I had once perceived her to be. When I lost that, I lost a part of myself. When I became disillusioned with my friend, I became disillusioned with my faith in the innate goodness of all people.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“I saw fellow people where Anna saw only pawns.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“Neff had bragged on Twitter about having heard Tha Carter V—an unreleased Lil Wayne album that had come into the hands of Martin Shkreli, who shared some of the tracks with Anna, who in turn played them for Neff.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“I had not noticed that, over time, the balance of our friendship had irreversibly changed.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“1. Don’t be defensive. 2. Expect minimal feedback if you’re doing okay or better. No news is good news. 3. Check your ego at the door. 4. Don’t assume. Check. And check again. 5. Long-windedness has no place in email correspondence; get to the point. 6. Understand why you’re doing something. 7. Think ahead. 8. Hell hath no fury like a boss who receives an email containing bad news that ends with a frowning-face emoticon. 9. In fact, scratch emoticons from all professional correspondence. 10. For birthdays, holidays, or special occasions, just a card will do.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“I suppose, to varying degrees, we all try on different identities in college, on the path to finding our own.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“The three of us walked back to the van in silence. It’s a wonder I didn’t explode.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“I was overcome with reverence for the mystery and splendor of the villa, but something about Anna’s presence made me suppress the impulse to lean into my interest too profoundly.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“That suits you,” I conceded, worrying about whether her frame would permanently alter its shape.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“If you haven’t yet had the experience, I can tell you: it is deeply unsettling to learn that someone you care about, a person you think you know well, is an illusion. It messes with your head. You replay the scenes, the words, the implied understandings. You pick them apart. You hold each bit up to the light and ask what, if any, truth it contains.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“In my opinion it’s a mark of good fortune not to have developed the type of cynicism that comes with so-called street smarts.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“Anna also appealed to a certain part of me, and not necessarily the best part. Because of her, I was often late for things, I drank too much, and I neglected other friendships. I felt proud that Anna liked me, but was it possible, at the same time, to feel subconsciously ashamed?”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“When it was time for me to order an entrée, I turned from the waiter to Anna, seeking her blessing. It’s not like she required me to ask permission—she’d have told me to get whatever I wanted—but I operated with an excess of civility; because she was paying, I accepted my subservience and became increasingly deferential. I had not noticed that, over time, the balance of our friendship had irreversibly changed.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“Anna had a way of describing the world, its systems and power structures, so that anything seemed possible. In addition to the foundation’s galleries, private members’ club, restaurant, night lounge, juice bar, and German bakery, Anna wanted to curate experiential events that would blend art, food, and music. She mused about chefs she’d like to bring in (having watched rapper Action Bronson’s TV show Fuck, That’s Delicious, she eyed him in particular), artists she admired, and the contemporary art scene. She was savvy, and in the male-dominated world of bankers, lawyers, and investment professionals, she was unapologetically ambitious. I liked this about her.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“Anna knew where she stood on all things. Even her non-opinions were delivered with certitude. For example: if you asked Anna about her politics, she would tell you that she was decidedly nonpolitical. Politics had little to do with power, she professed. Money was the world’s true governing force.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“She was fast with her appraisals, deciding within minutes whether a person had anything to offer—entertainment value, interesting conversation, and so on. If they didn’t, she was liable to ignore them. Come to think of it, I can’t recall Anna ever pretending to like someone or something she didn’t. She was direct with her opinions, and she had them. “Get out of here with that garbage,” she might say, only half kidding, if someone offered her some French fries or some other random thing she didn’t want.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna

“The dynamic of my friendship with Anna was beginning to fall into place. She challenged me to be less uptight and less judgmental, to cut loose and have fun. At the same time, she invited me into her world of hotels, restaurants, and offbeat activities. I became both her audience and companion. I guess part of me aspired to be more like her.”
― Rachel DeLoache Williams, My Friend Anna