“Bea wondered sometimes what it was like to live without despising yourself. To know exactly who you were and be proud of that person. It was funny; people automatically assumed that what her life was missing, what she must desperately be in need of –after all, wasn’t every woman? –was a husband. When in actual fact she wasn’t desperate to be loved by another person; all she wanted was to feel the slightest bit of affection for herself.”