Quotes By Person: Martha Manning

“All their 'helpful' comments imply that if I'd only do_______, my problems would be solved. Like it's all within my grasp, able to be managed and mastered, if only I would try harder, longer, better. As I nod my head in polite and pathetic appreciation for their input, I scream inside, 'Shut up. Shut up. Unless you've been lost in this particular section of hell yourself, don't you dare try to give me directions.'”

-Undercurrents, Martha Manning

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“Depression is such a cruel punishment. There are no fevers, no rashes, no blood tests to send people scurrying in concern. Just the slow erosion of the self, as insidious as any cancer. And, like cancer, it is essentially a solitary experience. A room in hell with only your name on the door.”

-Undercurrents, Martha Manning

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“When I was nine, I climbed up to the high diving board at Jones Beach for the first time. My initial enthusiasm was betrayed by a mounting fear the farther I progressed up the ladder. There were at least ten children behind me occupying their own rungs, impatiently waiting for their chance at flight. Turning back was not an option, so I flung myself off the board. The fall was so fierce, so sharp, that I was buried in the water. I kept sinking lower and lower, the air busting in my chest and the terror overtaking me. I was frightened that I would never come up, that there was no bottom to this pool. I 'sank like a hopeless swimmer'. But finally, finally, my big toe skimmed the jagged concrete floor of the pool. I flexed my foot and pushed off against the bottom, propelling myself upward, back to air and sun and life.”

-Undercurrents, Martha Manning

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