andrea

“I felt the familiar charge of responsibility. It had a narcotic effect on me, this sense of mild suffering, the feeling of being needed, of being poised to go through something. If he was sick, I would nurse him back to health. I relished the idea.”
― Nina Renata Aron, Good Morning, Destroyer of Men's Souls: A Memoir of Women, Addiction, and Love

“Because the bonds that feel closest in our lives were forged in chaos and caretaking, we don’t know how to access that inner truth that is meant to guide us through our lives, keep us out of danger, direct us toward well-being.”
― Nina Renata Aron, Good Morning, Destroyer of Men's Souls: A Memoir of Women, Addiction, and Love

“I operated as if there'd be a verdict. An easy answer. A story. I operated as if we were setting the tone for the rest of our lives. It did not occur to me that we could simply muddle through, learn as we go, change things later, forgive ourselves.”
― Meaghan O'Connell, And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready

“Perspective. Storytellers tell their own stories. They don't mean to. They let their life experiences and ideas slip in between the bits and pieces of history that have come to them. There are so many versions among us, of this first woman, this mother of Manaboozhou, Nanabush, our goofy, loving, mixed up teacher and hero. They are all valid. They are all real. They are all traditional. None of us knows them all by heart. We take the parts that we need and understand. These are the stories that we share with our children. In a sense, that makes us all a little bit like Winona and Epanigishimoog. We are the creators of the Anishnabe generations who come after us. I like that responsibility.”
― Lois Beardslee, Lies to Live By