" This is the difficult truth of being abused: you come to expect abuse everywhere, and certainly from any person who resembles your abuser in any way. The generosity flees; the kindness inside you flees. There is no benefit of the doubt, no opportunity for pleasure. The mind tries to anticipate, to outwit, outsmart, and flee. It is a fight-or-flight behavior that encourages an antagonistic approach to the world, and it is not fulfilling, not empowering. It makes me feel, instead, very small. "

― Amy E. Butcher , Mothertrucker: Finding Joy on the Loneliest Road in America