The Patient Quotes

“it is not possible to show the reality for people who suffer from delusions”
― Jasper DeWitt, The Patient

“you don’t point out reality to people who have delusions. It doesn’t help, and they just get angry.”
― Jasper DeWitt, The Patient

“True, blaming myself like that is irrational, but kids - and adults who are still processing childhood trauma - don't blame themselves simply out of a secret desire for self-hatred. They blame themselves so they can feel in control of a what seems like an impossible situation, because the only way to feel like they can process it is to reclaim their agency, even by blaming themselves for something they have no control over.”
― Jasper DeWitt, The Patient

“He was a harassed-looking, barrel-chested bear of a man with a shaved head and a beard so wild that it looked like it could have concealed the corpses of several small animals. His eyes, a pair of bored, piggish slits, emanated sourness so intractable that I doubt even winning the lottery would’ve made him happy.”
― Jasper DeWitt, The Patient

“Rose told me that your greatest fear is not being able to save someone you care about. She also told me that there was no one on staff after Nessie who mattered to you, and that everyone who did matter was likely well out of reach of anyone locked in this hospital. It followed from those facts that Joe would torture you by making you care about him, and then fail to save him.”
― Jasper DeWitt, The Patient

“Somehow the boy managed to make his voice go all guttural and hoarse, and he kept trying to remind Frank of things they'd done together--like he knew him from somewhere. But the thing is, Rose, the things Joe was trying to remind Frank of? They were all nightmares Frank had as a child.”
― Jasper DeWitt, The Patient