Quotes About Empathy

Christina Baker Kline

What she wants most-what she truly years for-is what any of us want: to be seen. And look. She is.

I know too much; I have seen people at their worst, at their most desperate and selfish, and this knowledge makes me wary. So I am learning to pretend, to smile and nod, to display empathy I do not feel. I am learning to pass, to look like everyone else, even though I feel broken inside.

The older I get, the more I believe that the greatest kindness is acceptance

When Vivian describes how it felt to be at the mercy of strangers, Molly nods. She knows full well what it's like to tamp down your natural inclinations, to force a smile when you feel numb. After a while you don't know what your own needs are anymore.

I am learning to pretend, to smile and nod, to display empathy I do not feel. I am learning to pass, to look like everyone else, even though I feel broken inside.

There are many ways to be crippled, I've learned over the years, many forms of paralysis.)

What she wants most—what she truly yearns for—is what any of us want: to be seen. And look. She is.

And if I'm honest, there's something else. Gertrude has become a stand-in for anyone who ever pitied me, didn't try to understand me, abandoned me. She gives my bitterness a place to dwell.

The reading part of her feels private, between her and the characters in a book.

When Vivian describes how it felt to be at the mercy of strangers, Molly nods. She knows full well what it's like to tamp down your natural inclinations, to force a smile when you feel numb.

And so your personality is shaped. You know too much, and this knowledge makes you wary. You grow fearful and mistrustful. The expression of emotion does not come naturally, so you learn to fake it. To pretend. To display an empathy you don't actually feel.

Eighty-two years later, the sound of her crying still haunts me. If only I had paid closer attention to why she was crying instead of simply trying to quiet her. If only I had paid closer attention.

Christina Baker Kline

Mrs. Scatcherd says we should make a clean slate," I say. "Let go of the past." "I can let go of the past, no problem." He picks up the wool blanket that has fallen to the floor and tucks it around the lump of Carmine's body, covering the parts that are exposed. "But I don't want to forget everything.

am learning to pretend, to smile and nod, to display empathy I do not feel. I am learning to pass, to look like everyone else, even though I feel broken inside.

It is a pitiful kind of childhood, to know that no one loves you or is taking care of you, to always be on the outside looking in.

This isn't bickering. This is classic mother-daughter communications. I've been reading up on it.

So I am learning to pretend, to smile and nod, to display empathy I do not feel. I am learning to pass, to look like everyone else, even though I am broken inside

I am the only child in a room full of women and am immediately at ease.

When Miss Larsen talks to me, she bends down and looks me in the eye. When she asks questions, she waits for my answer. She smells of lemons and vanilla. And she treats me like I'm smart. After I take a test to determine my reading

one who speaks my language without saying a word.

story. (And anyway, Lori doesn't ask "why" questions. She's only

Maisie sensed it first. She wouldn't stop crying. Since she was a month old, when our mother got sick,