Quotes from Anna Camilleri

She's the stuff that lava is made of, not rain.

Because of the violence that has been at work in my family for generations, I can't name one relative who believes that he or she is loveable, worthy of kindness, deserving of care, attention, gentleness. This is what violence does; it squeezes us down into creatures we are not meant to be, so self-loathing and fearful that it hurts too much to hope, constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, for things to begin badly, or end badly. Moments of joy and pleasure regarded with suspicion.

I am stubbornly proud of my sexuality. To anyone who has looked down on me from a moral high ground , I say, "I am not a lady. Never have been, don't care to be." I have flirted unabashedly. I've been hungry and demanding; I've told more than a few lovers how to pleasure me in no uncertain terms.

The part of me that is untouchable today should never have been touched.

Disconnecting from my young self was a way of putting distance between the tragedy of those years and a future that seemed inaccessible.