"in which you heard recordings of all the things anyone had ever said about you, both good and bad. The catch was, you had to pass through all the worst things people had said before you could get to the highest compliments at the very bottom. There is no way I would ever make it more than two and a half steps down such a staircase, but I understand its terrible logic: if we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known." (2013)
I Know What You Think of Me
Hearing other people’s uncensored opinions of you is an unpleasant reminder that you’re just another person in the world.
archive.nytimes.com