Haley

“To say this prayer—burn this candle—perform this ritual—create this salt or honey jar—is to have something to do when it seems that nothing can be done.”
― Esmé Weijun Wang, The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays

“The story of schizophrenia is one with a protagonist, “the schizophrenic,” who is first a fine and good vessel with fine and good things inside of it, and then becomes misshapen through the ravages of psychosis; the vessel becomes prone to being filled with nasty things. Finally, the wicked thoughts and behavior that may ensue become inseparable from the person, who is now unrecognizable from what they once were.”
― Esmé Weijun Wang, The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays

“Still, I did what I had done all my life when faced with something I did not understand: I read about it.”
― Esmé Weijun Wang, The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays

“The only thing left afterward was a red cardigan. I left it in a bag and put it outside, but no one took it. When C. finally noticed the cardigan, he said, “But you love that cardigan.” Did I love that cardigan? I couldn’t tell if I loved him or my mother, let alone a cardigan that I’d worn around my studio for a year. I threw the cardigan away.”
― Esmé Weijun Wang, The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays