Jerzy Kosinski Quotes

I spent much of my life hiding.

I have lived so long among people who do not understand me, been so long accustomed to refrain and disguise myself for fear of being laughed at, that I have grown as difficult to come at as a snail in a shell; and what is worse, I cannot come out of my shell when I wish it.

I spent the first 33 years of my life with secrets, and lots of them. I spent a great deal of energy worrying over what people thought and obscuring the things I was ashamed of... trying to appear what I thought was normal.

It's a terrible way to live, to be closeted, to always be worried about being found out. To live this double life is really trying.

Nothing makes us so lonely as our secrets.

I knew I was born at the North but hoped nobody would find it out. I looked upon the misfortune as something so shrouded by time and distance that maybe nobody remembered it.

My day is spent hiding from people.

I want find a part of myself that I feel shame about, or that I feel really scared of exposing to the world.

It's a terrible thing to be alone - yes it is - it is - but don't lower your mask until you have another mask prepared beneath - as terrible as you like - but a mask.

You aren't going to leave me alone are you?

I don't hide out. If you build a wall around yourself, it draws people to invade it. Fear is the enemy.

Although I know it's unfair I reveal myself one mask at a time.

When it grows dark, we always need someone. This thought, the product of anxiety, only comes to me in the evenings, just when I'm about to end my writerly explorations.

I guess I'm attracted and repelled by isolation. It scares me. And it's why I tend to write about older characters, too, because for them the stakes are somewhat higher.

You stand still, somebody might get close to you. I don't stand still much anymore.

I have a very ostrich mentality. I feel like I have my head in the sand so no one can see me.

I felt vulnerable and very much between friends. I remember walking down the hallway and thinking I had no way of knowing what was coming, literally. This wasn't because I had some horrific bullying story, but because of a steady drip of negativity.

Some people hide more than others, and it does intrigue me.

I had no friends. I worried a lot.

Fear is a huge thing for older people.

Victims always feel alone and helpless.

When you're in the closet, you feel like the sky will fall down if anyone finds out. A lot of the fear is self-generated.

I never feel more alone than when I'm traveling. Alone and, to some extent, helpless. The world expects a certain level of competence and can be merciless when this expectation is unmet.

After I lost my fiance, it seemed like it would be better to always be alone than to risk being hurt again.

I can't even say what my greatest fear is because I, I can't even imagine. Being without my family... I can't even say it because it makes me cry.