I live in the borderlands. The word ghost sounds like memory. The word therapy means exorcism. My visions echo and multiplymultiply. I don't know how to figure out what they mean. I can't tell where they start or if they will end. But I know this. If they shrink my head any more, or float me away on an ocean of pills, I will never return.

Laurie Halse Anderson

Categorized in : Mean Memories Ocean

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

Laurie Halse Anderson

inspiration self-esteem pounds

I just want to sleep. A coma would be nice. Or amnesia. Anything, just to get rid of this, these thoughts, whispers in my mind. Did he rape my head, too?

Laurie Halse Anderson

nice mind sleep

She cannot chain my soul. Yes, she could hurt me. She'd already done so...I would bleed, or not. Scar, or not. Live, or not. But she could not hurt my soul, not unless I gave it to her.

Laurie Halse Anderson

inspiration soul hurt

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

Laurie Halse Anderson

speak knows

A scar is a sign of strength. . .the sign of a survivor.

Laurie Halse Anderson

scar survivor

Write about the emotions you fear the most.

Laurie Halse Anderson

fear writing motivational

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

Laurie Halse Anderson

cake creativity art

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.

Laurie Halse Anderson

recovery kissing reading

I wanted to pull down a book, open it proper, and gobble up page after page

Laurie Halse Anderson

pages wanted book

When life sucks, read. They can't yell at you for that. And if they do, then you can ignore them.

Laurie Halse Anderson

life-sucks ifs

Why not spend that time on art: painting, sculpting, charcoal, pastel, oils? Are words or numbers more important than images? Who decides this? Does algebra move you to tears? Can plural possessives express the feelings in your heart? If you don't learn art now, you will never learn to breathe!

Laurie Halse Anderson

oil art moving

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?

Laurie Halse Anderson

confused truth memories

I knit the afternoon away. I knit reasons for Elijah to come back. I knit apologies for Emma. I knit angry knots and slipped stitches for every mistake I ever made, and I knit wet, swollen stitches that look awful. I knit the sun down.

Laurie Halse Anderson

apology mistake looks

You were born with the seeds of your talent, the ability to observe the world around you and weave piece of it into a story. I believe that most -- if not all -- people are born with these seeds. What separates the writers from the non-writers is that the writers actually sit down and, you know... write.

Laurie Halse Anderson

writing believe people

I picked up one of the books and flipped through it. Don't get me wrong, I like reading. But some books should come with warning labels: Caution: contains characters and plots guaranteed to induce sleepiness. Do not attempt to operate heavy machinery after ingesting more than one chapter. Has been known to cause blindness, seizures and a terminal loathing of literature. Should only be taken under the supervision of a highly trained English teacher. Preferably one who grades on the curve.

Laurie Halse Anderson

taken teacher book

Mr. Freeman: You are getting better at this, but it's not good enough. This looks like a tree,but it is an average, ordinary, everyday, boring tree. Breathe life into it. Make it bend - trees are flexible, so they don't snap. Scar it, give it a twisted branch - perfect trees don't exist. Nothing is perfect. Flaws are interesting. Be the tree.

Laurie Halse Anderson

perfect average giving

If I had lady-spider legs, I would weave a sky where the stars lined up. Matresses would be tied down tight to their trucks, bodies would never crash through windshields. The moon would rise above the wine-dark sea and give babies only to maidens and musicians who had prayed long and hard. Lost girls wouldn't need compasses or maps. They would find gingerbread paths to lead them out of the forest and home again. They would never sleep in silver boxes with white velvet sheets, not until they were wrinkled-paper grandmas and ready for the trip.

Laurie Halse Anderson

girl stars baby

I'm the only one sitting alone, under the glowing neon sign which reads, "Complete and Total Loser, Not Quite Sane. Stay Away. Do Not Feed.

Laurie Halse Anderson

neon glowing sitting

The dead do walk and haunt and crawl into your bed at night. Ghosts sneak into your head when you're not looking. Stars line up and volcanoes birth out bits of glass that foretell the future. Poison berries make girls stronger, but sometimes kill them. If you howl at the moon and swear on your blood, anything you desire will be yours. Be careful what you wish for. There's always a catch.

Laurie Halse Anderson

girl stars moon

Why are you being so mean?" "Friends tell friends the truth." "yeah, but not to hurt, to help.

Laurie Halse Anderson

hurt helping mean