Jessamyn West (writer)

"Only a fool would refuse to enter a fool's paradise — when that's the only paradise he'll ever have a chance to enter."

"In their sympathies, children feel nearer animals than adults. They frolic with animals, caress them, share with them feelings neither has words for. Have they ever stroked any adult with the love they bestow on a cat? Hugged any grownup with the ecstasy they feel when clasping a puppy?"

"In my time and neighborhood (and in my soul) there was only one standard by which a woman measured success: did some man want her?"

"We can love an honest rogue, but what is more offensive than a false saint?"

"I never meet anyone nowadays who admits to having had a happy childhood. Everyone appears to think happiness betokens a lack of sensitivity."