Zaina Arafat

It occurred to me in that moment to question why, as a man, his bare legs were somehow less troubling than mine. It was a double standard, a shame I had simply accepted until then. In acquiring my gender, I had become offensive

It was exactly how I felt my own heart had been treated throughout my life—carelessly, callously

One must proceed cautiously and always be on the lookout, always withhold information and never reveal something that can later be used as ammunition. Never get too close because that’s when she’ll shoot. And if she does, always have an escape plan. It is essential to remember these rules. Yet this is the realm, the realm of my mother, in which I consistently forget how to survive.

We wear masks to protect ourselves, but they also keep us from being vulnerable,” Richard announced the first week. “They keep us from achieving intimacy

Is narcissism an inherited trait?

You’ll find that having someone who has a claim on you, and who you can claim, it’s one of the greater things in life.”

I’m aware I can be exhausting—“you exist too much,” my mother often told me

“I can’t believe I’m still trying to protect my image of you.”

You have taken my weaknesses, insecurities, and confessions and used them all against me.”

“I won’t ever let you near my heart again,”