Paley is one of my favorite writers, too. "Friends" with its "soft-speaking tough souls of anarchy" is one of my favorites, along with "Wants" but the story that has stuck with me since I first read it is "Listening".
At the end of that story, Cassie confronts Faith, asking her why she is left out of Faith's telling of stories, even though she was there. Faith is stunned, and sits with this new knowing. When Faith finally asks Cassie if she can forgive her, Cassie's words, full of love and strength, end the story: "From now on, I'll watch you like a hawk. I do not forgive you."
Cassie's insistence on taking up her rightful space in the world was a powerful example to me when I most needed one -- I was nineteen years old and afraid I wouldn't be able to finish college if I came out to my parents. I was afraid I wouldn't then be able to get a good job, and afraid about the future in ways only a nineteen year old who has just barely grasped she needs to plan for her future can be. The idea that I could make that future happen, and not have to apologize for who I was, changed everything.
For me, the real beauty in Paley's stories is that they have the power to make us less afraid.
Paley is one of my favorite writers, too. "Friends" with its "soft-speaking tough souls of anarchy" is one of my favorites, along with "Wants" but the story that has stuck with me since I first read it is "Listening".
At the end of that story, Cassie confronts Faith, asking her why she is left out of Faith's telling of stories, even though she was there. Faith is stunned, and sits with this new knowing. When Faith finally asks Cassie if she can forgive her, Cassie's words, full of love and strength, end the story: "From now on, I'll watch you like a hawk. I do not forgive you."
Cassie's insistence on taking up her rightful space in the world was a powerful example to me when I most needed one -- I was nineteen years old and afraid I wouldn't be able to finish college if I came out to my parents. I was afraid I wouldn't then be able to get a good job, and afraid about the future in ways only a nineteen year old who has just barely grasped she needs to plan for her future can be. The idea that I could make that future happen, and not have to apologize for who I was, changed everything.
For me, the real beauty in Paley's stories is that they have the power to make us less afraid.