MAYA QUARTZ

“I especially liked it when, at the end, they begged for their lives. When they did that—and they all did that eventually—I would pretend to hesitate and see in their eyes the glimmer of a final, desperate hope. I let them have that for an instant. Then, I took it away. That—that extinguishing of their very last hope—I savored more than anything, even more than the extinguishing of their lives.
You see, it was at that moment they could feel the presence of the Devil and would beg God to come and deliver them from him. And it was in that moment that I made them see—that they finally realized—God had been there all along. It was then they understood: the Devil was just God in his night attire.”
― Craig Russell, The Devil Aspect

“I cannot stress enough how good it is to know the future. If I didn’t come back with my memories intact, I would have probably clung to my father. I would have hated to see myself, unlovable, begging for attention, and finally turning into an ugly woman all over again. Yes, to live a good life… I just need to do nothing. The moment I tried to do something, I would attract people’s hatred and anger.”
― Ramgeul Geul, 폭군님은 착하게 살고 싶어 [Poggunnim'eun Chaghage Salgo Sip'eo]

“I was beginning to learn the gendered rules for behavior. My parents did not want a steely-eyed warrior for a daughter- they wanted someone obedient and kind. She didn't have to be a quivering sack of hysteria, but she should at least crack at FBI-interrogator levels. I would have to do better. I would try to be softer.”
― Heather Gay, Bad Mormon: A Memoir

“A mother cannot truly respect her child as long as she does not realize what deep shame she causes him with an ironic remark, intended only to cover her own uncertainty. Indeed, she cannot be aware of how deeply humiliated, despised, and devalued her child feels, if she herself has never consciously suffered these feelings, and if she tries to fend them off with irony.”
― Alice Miller, The Drama of the Gifted Child: The Search for the True Self