“As children, we were taught to be ‘good’ boys and girls, which of course implies we were not that already. We were taught we’re good if we clean up our room, we’re good if we make good grades. Very few of us were taught that we’re essentially good. Very few of us were given a sense of unconditional approval, a feel that we’re precious because of what we are, not what we do. And that’s not because we were raised by monsters. We were raised by people who were raised by the same way we were. Sometimes, in fact, it was the people who loved us the most who felt it was their responsibility to train us to struggle.” - Marianne Willamson