Every villain's redemption arc begins with their origin story. (prologue) - Stephanie Foo

Dr. Ham would tell me that PTSD is only a mental illness in times of peace. The whole point of PTSD is to prepare you for being on the verge of death at any moment. My parents prepared me to face a vicious world with danger around every corner. (Chapter 43)

You can’t heal without acknowledgment. We have to normalize therapy – not just, like, talk therapy or psychotherapy. We have to normalize different generations of Americans working through trauma.

Being healed isn’t about feeling nothing. Being healed is about feeling the appropriate emotions at the appropriate times and still being able to come back to yourself. That’s just life.