Home > Work > Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed - A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnappings
1 " Every time i see a butterfly, it reminds me of how precious life can truly be. To be able to turn from a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly and fly away so freely and gracefully wherever she may please, without no one in the world to tell her what to do. I wait for that special moment in time when I get to live freely, without no worries, pain or tears. I just want to be happy. I want the laughter in the air without all of the pain. One special day I’ll get to live my life just like that beautiful butterfly. I will no longer feel blue inside. "
― Michelle Knight , Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed - A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnappings
2 " Yes, I made it through one of the most terrible experiences that can happen to a human being, but most of all, my story is about hope. I might have been chained, starved, and beaten, yet that monster couldn’t totally crush my spirit. Over and over I chose to get back up and keep going. Now I’m going to tell you how I did it. "
3 " Every person who is lost is somebody’s child. "
4 " In order to get past something terrible, sometimes you have to walk through the pain, not around it. It might be messy. It might make you sob. But if you let yourself cry long enough, you finally reach the bottom of your tears. I haven’t reached the bottom yet, but I know that someday I will. "
5 " I might have been chained, starved, and beaten, yet that monster couldn’t totally crush my spirit. Over and over I chose to get back up and keep going. "
6 " In order to get past something terrible, sometimes you have to walk through the pain, not around it. "
7 " Sometimes you have to care about people the way they need you to care about them. "
8 " Please, always take the two minutes to make that call. "
9 " I want to celebrate my homecoming, not my funeral. I still have so much I want to say and do. Life is too short not to live it right … from this day forward I will embrace everything good and desecrate all that is evil. I’ve seen enough evil to last a lifetime now. I want the good in life without worrying. To be with people who are caring, smiles that last for miles, and love that’s forever lasting, a home that I call my own, not a prison. I may be defeated and beaten down, only to get back up again, to stand tall with head held high and my pride not shaken. Only to survive this horrible nightmare with my heart still attached and my soul not stolen and walk away without a scar on me. "
10 " would have cried, but when you’ve been locked away for nearly a year, you sort of run out of tears. "
11 " I was thrilled and grateful to be safely away from that maniac. Do you have any idea what it’s like to wake up and realize that no one is going to rape you that day? How wonderful it is to see the sunlight pouring through your window? How great it is to just walk around without a heavy chain on your wrist or ankle? It feels amazing. And once you have that feeling, you want your full independence. In other words, you want your whole life back. "
12 " How do you say good-bye to a child who has at one time lived in your body? How do you just walk out the door? How do you explain to your son that days, months, and even years may pass before he will live with his mother again? "
13 " It’s one thing to have someone break your own heart; it can be even more painful to watch another person’s heart get crushed. "
14 " I may be defeated and beaten down, only to get back up again, to stand tall with head held high and my pride not shaken. Only to survive this horrible nightmare with my heart still attached and my soul not stolen and walk away without a scar on me. "
15 " In order to get past something terrible, sometimes you have to walk through the pain, not around it. It "
16 " we all go through hard things. We might wish we didn’t, but we do. Even if I don’t understand my pain, I’ve got to turn it into some kind of purpose. "
17 " Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring, ring with the harmonies of liberty. Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies, let it resound loud as the rolling sea. "
18 " That’s one reason I’m opening up my life in this book: I want everyone to remember those who are lost. "
19 " When you give someone a great meal, it’s like giving a little bit of your heart. "
20 " This is for all the women who were told they were nothing … don’t let them tear you down or destroy your heart. You are somebody, don’t let them tell you any different "
