Ellen Hopkins

I'd sleep outside naked in the blizzard,for you.

Do you ever dangle your toes over the precipice, dare the cliff to crumble, defy the frozen deity to suffer the sun, thaw feather and bone, take wing to fly you home?

I felt so fine I didn't once overanalyze the perfect emotion, budding inside. The one I'd always feared most.

I keep hearing that love isn't a logical emotion. Should I worry about that?

I don__ know449that much about the Bible, other than it waswritten thousands of years ago, which dilutesits relevance. However, I know its faithfulfollowers tend to cherry-pick verses to suittheir needs, the same way they cherry-pickwords or scenes from other books to labelobscene.

I blamed the Bible,when its words were not at fault,only the way they__e interpretedby those too willingto wield them like chain saws,cutting others off at the knees.

The problems with lies is they start to pile up, one on top of another, until it's hard to find your way out from under the heap.

Parenting should be a passion, not a part-time pursuit.

Honesty. Sobriety. My virginity. No way to regain the first two, I almost gave away the last.

Now that I have opened that bottle of memories they're pouring out like wine, crimson and bittersweet.

God is love," she said. "And he respects love, whether it's between a parents, and child, a man and woman, or friends. I don't think he cares about religion one little bit. Live your life right. Love with all your heart. Don't hurt others, and help those in need. That is all you need to know. And don't worry about heaven. If it exists, you'll be welcome.

Empty is the perfect state of being. Nothing inside to anchor you. Nothing inside to chain you down, keep you from living your dreams. Empty, almost weightless, you are an eyelash afloat on a blink of breeze. You can rise about tension and worry, loosed from the grip of gravity. Adrift in thermal lift, you ride the wing of freedom and soar. Empty, you are Eve in Eden. Empty, you are what you were meant to be.

Anger is a valid emotion. It's only bad when it takes control and makes you do things you don't want to do.

I felt angry, frustrated.I felt I didn't belong, not in my,church, not in my home, not in my skin.

Hurt. Enough to want to make someone else hurt too.

Does wanting to die equal losing your mind?

Funny thing about the monster.The worse he treats you, the more you love him.

There's a lesson here, and that is I have to find happiness inside myself before I try to partner again.