“Sometimes if you go to see a very, very, happy movie, a Hollywood movie, you can walk out of the movie and feel very depressed because it's so false. And other times you see a very depressing movie and it makes you feel good, happy because you've seen something real. You've seen something that talks to you and says that your bad feelings are legitimate. And then you can go further with that and say, "Well, this bad feeling is good, and this good feeling is bad, but is it good to feel bad and is it bad to feel good?" I'm concerned with feelings. And sometimes when I feel good, I'll write something very negative because I have the strength to do it. But when I really, really feel very bad, what I want to do is make myself feel better, so I'll write something happier.”

book The Anatomy of Loneliness

Source: Open

Source: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Source: You Can Heal Your Life

Quoted in Against the American Grain (1962) by Dwight Macdonald, p. 30

Tales of ordinary madness (1967-83)
Variant: .. the free soul is rare, but you know it when you see it - basically because you feel good, very good, when you are near or with them...
Source: Tales of Ordinary Madness

Source: A Long Way Down

Farewell Address (1947)
Context: Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen. You know how bad my voice sounds. Well, it feels just as bad. You know this baseball game of ours comes up from the youth. That means the boys. And after you've been a boy, and grow up to know how to play ball, then you come to the boys you see representing themselves today in our national pastime.

Source: The Truth About Forever