For years, the place I really lived - the world I watched, the one I thought and wrote about - was 15th-century France. Kathryn Harrison More Quotes by Kathryn Harrison More Quotes From Kathryn Harrison For me, writing is inseparable from thinking. I could say the entire undertaking is a vast cerebral construct against my demons. It's the thing that I love. It's my identity. Kathryn Harrison identity writing thinking Scars are stories, history written on the body Kathryn Harrison scar body stories We're taught to expect unconditional love from our parents, but I think it is more the gift our children give us. It's they who love us helplessly, no matter what or who we are. Kathryn Harrison unconditional-love children thinking There aren't many people in our history who have so completely surrendered themselves to a mission that they would give up their lives for it. Kathryn Harrison giving-up giving people My days are as long as despair can make them. Kathryn Harrison despair long The dizzy rapture of starving. The power of needing nothing. By force of will I make myself the impossible sprite who lives on air, on water, on purity. Kathryn Harrison force-of-will air water Don’t portray yourself as who you want to be. Portray yourself as who you are. Kathryn Harrison who-you-are want I've always been interested in the intersection between our rational and our unconscious lives. Kathryn Harrison intersections rational unconscious Sometimes there's a sort of tear in the veil, and there are people who live in more than one dimension. Kathryn Harrison veils tears people Writing is how I stay sane. It's completely necessary. Kathryn Harrison sane writing I can't work out much about myself or what I see in the world around me unless I do it through writing. Kathryn Harrison work-out writing world I like nudging readers into a slightly different perspective, but in a sly way - I want to be the writer who slips a stiletto in and out, to make so swift and clean a cut, it's not until a chapter ends that the reader looks down and sees she's bleeding and asks what happened. Kathryn Harrison perspective cutting want As a young woman, I was so eager to please that I served others' happiness and even their values before my own. It didn't earn me love, but it did deliver me to a place where I had to choose between what I thought of myself and what other people did. I chose myself. Kathryn Harrison others-happiness young people I like vampires, tuberculosis, anything to do with blood. Then I read a biography of Rasputin and found out he'd had this daughter who had become a famous lion tamer and been billed as the daughter of the mad monk who was able to hypnotize animals with her eyes. It gave me a vision. Kathryn Harrison eyes me vision daughter Lives that are so conspicuous have a claustrophobic feeling. Once you're in charge of running a country, you're under scrutiny all the time. That's a trap. Kathryn Harrison feeling you time country We know the seductive alchemy of art. To transform private anguish into a narrative of truth, if not beauty; to make sense where there was none; to bring order out of chaos - these are the promises art makes. Kathryn Harrison promises truth beauty art I am perfectly capable of writing things about myself that one doesn't discuss in polite company, but I was raised by people who said you don't discuss politics, you don't discuss religion, and you certainly don't discuss people's sex lives. Kathryn Harrison i-am myself you politics I'm not an investigative journalist; I don't track crime or police blotters. Kathryn Harrison journalist crime track police I don't care what people think about me. I care what people think about my work. As a young woman, I was so eager to please that I served others' happiness and even their values before my own. Kathryn Harrison woman me work happiness I was the good girl who never needed disciplining, who made straight A's. I applied and was accepted to Stanford University. Kathryn Harrison never good university girl
