Madison

“With the power of the written word, he turned his "little V." into an unstable teenage girl eaten up with jealousy. He said whatever he wanted; I was just a character now, living on borrowed time, like every other girl who'd come before me. It wouldn't be long before he erased me completely from the pages of his wretched diary. For his readers, it was merely a story, words. For me, it was the beginning of a breakdown.”
― Vanessa Springora, Le Consentement

“As a girl I had liked obscene language, it gave me a sense of masculine freedom. Now I knew that obscenity could raise sparks of madness if it came from a mouth as controlled as mine. So I closed my eyes, I held my hands and squeezed my eyelids.”
― Elena Ferrante, The Days of Abandonment

“It's obvious, don't you see it, can't you hear it? His name is written on my skin, he scarred me. I've changed my entire shape for having fit within the enormity of his thoughts, and now the only words I know are lines and color.”
― Olivie Blake, Alone With You in the Ether

“What you're trying to say is that it's easier for you to hide in your own darkness, than emerge cloaked in your own vulnerability. Not better, but easier. However the longer you hold it in, the more likely you are to suffocate.
At some point, you must breathe.”
― Caleb Azumah Nelson, Open Water