Title: A Room Called Earth
Author: Madeleine Ryan
Thoughts: This was an interesting read—it took me a while to get through. It takes place over the course of a single evening, and almost entirely within the mind of the main character. It’s about, and by, an autistic woman, and I loved the look inside her head, inside her thoughts. The main character has the kind of self-awareness that I think we should all strive for—so intimate and honest and frank and loving.
Favorite Lines:
“I want to give myself to myself, fully.” (p. 52)
“Being solely attracted to men sucks. It’s like suffering from an irreversible case of Stockholm syndrome. I’m drawn to the very creature that has violated, oppressed, exploited, raped, kidnapped, subjugated, controlled, made fun of, manipulated, abused, belittled, objectified, persecuted, and condescended me and my people for centuries.” (p. 54)
“I think I’m a seasonal companion. People try me on when the temperature is right. Wearing me too early or too late in the season doesn’t feel natural. So it’s best to just put me back in the closet until the right weather comes around, and I’m useful again.” (p. 61)
“He reminds me of a part of myself that I’m still angry about losing. Probably because I didn’t lose it, I gave it away.” (p. 63)
“No matter how scary or intimidating a person may appear to be, we don’t need to ‘protect’ ourselves from them. As long as we can turn our experiences into love, there’s no need to waste time and energy being frightened, or trying to stop things and people from coming in or going out.” (p. 96)
“I’m pretty sure that feeling alone in a crowd is a shared experience.” (p. 132)
“I’ve noticed that when I treat my inner world as sacred, every interaction that I have with the outside world becomes sacred, too. How I treat myself is a reflection of how I treat the world and, in turn, how the world treats me.” (p. 147)
