Laurie Halse Anderson citations

“I want to go to sleep and not wake up, but I don't want to die. I want to eat like a normal person eats, but I need to see my bones or I will hate myself even more and I might cut my heart out or take every pill that was ever made.”

“When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time.”

“There is no magic cure, no making it all go away forever. There are only small steps upward; an easier day, an unexpected laugh, a mirror that doesn't matter anymore.”

“Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance.”

“I knew it!" He pumps a fist into the air. "You've fallen in love with me. You want to have my babies. We'll get a team of horses and a covered wagon and we'll journey to South America and raise goats.”

“My face becomes a Picasso sketch, my body slicing into pieces.”

“The only number that would ever be enough is 0. Zero pounds, zero life, size zero, double-zero, zero point. Zero in tennis is love. I finally get it.”

“Didn't help to ponder things that were forever gone. It only made a body restless and fill up with bees, all wanting to sting something.”

“I can't do everything for you. You must walk alone to find your soul.”

“You have to know what you stand for, not just what you stand against.”

“In one aspect, yes, I believe in ghosts, but we create them. We haunt ourselves.”

“We are crayons and lunchboxes and swinging so high our sneakers punch holes in the clouds.”

“Homework is not an option. My bed is sending out serious nap rays. I can't help myself. The fluffy pillows and warm comforter are more powerful than I am. I have no choice but to snuggle under the covers.”

“I have survived. I am here. Confused, screwed up, but here. So, how can I find my way? Is there a chain saw of the soul, an ax I can take to my memories or fears?”

“I am beginning to measure myself in strength, not pounds. Sometimes in smiles.”

“Art without emotion its like chocolate cake without sugar. It makes you gag.”

“It's easier not to say anything. Shut your trap, button your lip, can it. All that crap you hear on TV about communication and expressing feelings is a lie. Nobody really wants to hear what you have to say.”

“It's easier to floss with barbed wire than admit you like someone in middle school.”

“I wonder how long it would take for anyone to notice if I just stopped talking.”

“Gym should be illegal. It's humiliating.”

“Do I want to die from the inside out or the outside in?”

“Write about the emotions you fear the most.”

“CONJUGATE THIS:
I cut class, you cut class, he, she, it cuts class. We cut class, they cut class. We all cut class. I cannot say this in Spanish because I did not go to Spanish today.”

“I am getting better at smiling when people expect it.”

“I have never heard a more eloquent silence.”

“I failed eating, failed drinking, failed not cutting myself into shreds. Failed friendship. Failed sisterhood and daughterhood. Failed mirrors and scales and phone calls. Good thing I'm stable.”

“Eating was hard. Breathing was hard. Living was hardest.”

“What do I want?
The answer to that question does not exist.”

“I am angry that I starved my brain and that I sat shivering in my bed at night instead of dancing or reading poetry or eating ice cream or kissing a boy…”