Emily

“As a teenager and young adult, I found being mute intensely isolating and dehumanizing. I felt truly like I was just a pair of eyes and ears - an entity without a body, without a face, and without a mouth. I felt as though I was barely a physical being.”
― Carl Sutton, Selective Mutism In Our Own Words: Experiences in Childhood and Adulthood

“My mother and I speak different languages. Her native language is Japanese. My native language is English. This might seem like a mundane fact about us. It's not. It dictates everything. Because even though mu mother understands and speaks English at a highly functional level, there are places inside me she can't reach, nuances of thought and emotion I can't express in words that make sense to her.”
― Elizabeth Miki Brina, Speak, Okinawa: A Memoir

“All experience adds up to a life lived as only you could. I feel sure the day will come when you can say: this is my life.”
― Durian Sukegawa, Sweet Bean Paste

“It’s my belief that everything in this world has its own language. We have the ability to open up our ears and minds to anything and everything. That could be someone walking down the street, or it could be the sunshine or the wind.”
― Durian Sukegawa, Sweet Bean Paste