For 25 Years, I Did Take My

Many Women My Age Have Known The Experience Of Giving Up Crucial Parts Of Themselves To Please The Man They Love.

When I Was 12 Years Old, I Read Nancy Drew Mysteries And Biographies Of Madame Curie And Florence Nightingale And Books About Girls Who Love Horses Or Go To Nursing School. I Belonged To The Girl Scouts And Got A's In School And Rarely Disobeyed My Parents. I Still Kept A Collection Of Barbie Dolls In My Room, And I Almost Never Spoke To Boys.

There Is A Theme That Runs Through My Work, And That Is: The Toxic Property Of Keeping Secrets.

I Continued To Protect Him With My Silence.

Not Only Did I Avoid Speaking Of Salinger; I Resisted Thinking About Him. I Did Not Reread His Letters To Me. The Experience Had Been Too Painful.