Vanessa’s Reviews > What Lies in the Woods > Status Update

"The meaning of belief has changed over the ages. We tend to think of it as a matter of fact. I believe this thing is true; I hold it to be factual. But once, it meant something different, a meaning that lingers when we say 'I believe you.' It is not a statement of factual existence, but one of faith and loyalty. To believe is to hold dear, to cherish, to claim as a truth more fundamental than fact."

The trouble was he'd mistaken drama for virtue and suffering for art, and felt impoverished by his own good fortune. I'd known from the start that he'd sought me out because my sad story was written on my face and he was hoping to borrow it, but for a while, I hadn't minded.

"A man died in prison because of my testimony. It's a lot to put on a child. I know he was a horrible person. If anyone deserved it, he did. But it happened because of me, and that's more power than I ever wanted to have. It shouldn't have been up to me."