The Girls At 17 Swann Street Quotes
"I call it the Van Gogh room. Just a different color scheme. Hazy peach blanket, hazy peach walls."
"I have books to read, places to see, babies to make, birthday cakes to taste."
"I do not suffer from anorexia, I have anorexia."
"I am terrified of life. Of a sad and unfair world."
"I once had lips and breasts, but those shrank months ago."
"Everything looks pale and tired, a little like me."
"In Paris they had been living in a cupboard of a room."
"The world around me is obese, half of it. The other half is emaciated."
"I do not have a problem. I just have to lose a little bit of weight."
"I am twenty-six years old. My body feels sixty-two."
"Values are hollow, but meals are dense with high fructose corn syrup."
"I have moved into Bedroom 5, 17 Swann Street."
"The kaleidoscope goes by the bed, the slippers and a box underneath."
"My brain is slow and rarely looks beyond anticipating the next hunger pangs. Or back past the guilt of the last bite."
"I was a dancer for a while. I was not very good."
"In an ideal world, I would go to university."
"Matthias was offered a position at a research laboratory here."
"It was a brilliant opportunity for Matthias."
"I do not know enough about jazz, but what I do know I love."
"So what made you seek treatment for your eating disorder?"
"Back then I decided it was none of their business, and I made that very clear."
"I did not have a choice. I knew I was hurting him."
"I will fix this, I can do this on my own, I do not need—"
"Finally back at the—gloriously, miraculously—empty flat."
"Weekenders are patients who usually leave before you even realize they’re here."
"Ladies, I’m going to leave you for a few minutes."
"I need to be purposeful about letting a cactus die."
"He deserves to know, and I think you need him now."
"Please tell him where you are. He will understand."
"His perfect girl lies, cuts, and cannot eat. Why on earth would he be proud of me?"
"Papa! Papa! The first strawberries of the year!"
"Do you think of your mother and brother a lot?"
"Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror."
"I miss you. I love you. I am sorry I missed all your calls."
"You do not have to come back, or reply. I will understand if you do not. I will save your spot on the couch anyway."
"Anna, please talk to me. Help me understand. Why?"
"I am much heavier now, and I probably look like your worst nightmare, but I am happy and I am alive. I would not give that, or the pounds, up for anything."
"I just wanted to tell you that I know it looks hopeless, and I know you want to die. But it gets better, I promise."
"Until one of them raped me and, that same night, I discovered I could binge and purge."
"Yes, but rarely. Only when I lose control. The purging is punishment."
"It’s fine, I’m fine. I wound up here, sharing a wall with you, lucky one! Aren’t you glad you live in Bedroom Five?"
"You won’t stop, will you? You won’t give up again?"
"I promise you that I will never stop trying."
"Anna, do you think you are ready for Stage Three?"
"I just wanted a snack! Let go of me, dammit! I want to go home!"
"To Vienna, to Rome, to Phuket, Tokyo, and Havana. To the farthest place in the world from here."