My children are living, thinking human beings. It isn't in my power to regret them, for they belong to themselves. Rachel Cusk beingbelongchild Change image and share on social
Modern morality is all about perception. Rachel Cusk modernmoralityperception Change image and share on social
To become a mother is to learn a whole language - to relearn it, perhaps, as it was the tongue to which we were born - and hence gain entrance to a forgotten world of comprehension. Rachel Cusk bearcomprehensionentrance Change image and share on social
I sometimes feel that the world is a very uncivilised place where it is meant to be at its most civilised. Where it's meant to be intellectual or artistic or compassionate, it isn't, and that makes me very angry. Rachel Cusk angryartisticcivilise share on social
We who were born were not witnesses to our birth: like death, it is something we are forever after trying to catch sight of. Rachel Cusk bearbirthcatch Change image and share on social
Writing, more than any other art, is indexed to the worthiness of the self because it is identified in people's minds with emotion. Rachel Cusk artemotionidentify Change image and share on social
Hope is like one of those orchids that grows around toxic waste: lovely in itself - and an assertion, if you like, of indefatigable good - but a sure sign that something nasty lies underneath. Rachel Cusk assertiongoodgrow Change image and share on social
There's this really good line in 'Women in Love' where Ursula says, 'I always thought it was a sin to be unhappy.' And actually I think that's very common, it's what a lot of people feel - that you have an obligation to life to be happy if you can. Rachel Cusk commonfeelgood share on social
It is expected that a children's story will raise a difficulty and then resolve it: increasingly, this resolution is so prompt and so resounding that one forgets what exactly the difficulty was. Rachel Cusk childdifficultyexpect Change image and share on social
The anorexic is out to prove how little she needs, how little she can survive on; she is out, in a sense, to discredit her nurturers, while at the same time making a public crisis out of her need for nurture. Such vulnerability and such power: it brings the whole female machinery to a halt. Rachel Cusk anorexicbringcrisis share on social