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“For so long, the past had been a wound still open. Now he could run his finger along the mark those years had left. Scars were nothing but tissue, keratin, a reminder of what the body could endure.”
― Grace D. Li, Portrait of a Thief

“Where did one’s power lie in a world that stripped it from you, over and over again? How could we reclaim it when the dominant forces dangled it above our heads, shouting: Only the strong survive?”
― Julia Bartz, The Writing Retreat

“Physical abuse versus emotional neglect? Some might say the neglect is worse. Because it negates your very existence.”
― Julia Bartz, The Writing Retreat

“That was the way of the world: if you were a woman, then you had a job to do, and that was to pretend to love everyone else walking all over your body, leaving imprints on your face. You were supposed to crave it, to beg for more.”
― Julia Bartz, The Writing Retreat