Hubert Selby Jr. Quotes

Man's loneliness is but his fear of life.

I felt nobody would understand what was going on in my mind.

It's true, I had an extremely delicious life, but that was my life at home, and perhaps because I was only a child, or for whatever reasons, I found the company of others, especially other boys, quite terrifying and upsetting.

Because I am basically so insecure and anxious and afraid, I never, ever in my life learned to reach out for help, ever.

Being alone with fear can rapidly turn into panic. Being alone with frustration can rapidly turn into anger. Being alone with disappointment can rapid turn into discouragement and, even worse, despair.

Feeling alone makes negative feelings worse. When you feel alone, frustration quickly can become anger, fear quickly can become panic.

I think everyone can feel like an outsider. I know I have. I've always felt like one.

I've always had a huge fear of dying or becoming ill. The thing I'm most afraid of, though, is being alone, which I think a lot of performers fear. It's why we seek the limelight - so we're not alone, were adored. We're loved, so people want to be around us. The fear of being alone drives my life.

Sometimes I think I'm the craziest person on the planet.

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.

As a young man, I felt a need to communicate with somebody or something, but it seemed in my own particular environment that that wasn't an option. On the other hand, I probably lacked the courage to do so, even if it was an option.

People come up to me all the time. If I'm with friends or in a crowd, I'm fine, but if I'm by myself, I get afraid because people are nuts.

Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.

I had no friends. I worried a lot.

I thought I wasn't attractive or talented anymore. I cried easily and was depressed and removed. I became emotionally insecure about what the second half of my life would bring. I was angry, scared, frightened and lonely.

Solitude terrifies the soul at twenty.

Fear is that thing that keeps you up there on that other plateau. Fear is that thing that just keeps you closed down, and quite frankly, alone.

I feel like everybody's always out to get me, and that's a weird feeling.

I couldn't have come up with a better metaphor for my life and my internal conflict. It amazes me how quickly we can manifest our fears; not only had I created my 'I'm never satisfied, I'll drive her away' nightmare.

For a while I couldn't leave the house by myself. Even if I was just grocery shopping alone, I'd get self-conscious.

I'm not one of those guys that has a great worldview. I kind of deal with terror and fear and isolation and abandonment.

My greatest fear is to be misunderstood.

So in some ways my life, my background has been isolating and I think I'm a bit more scared as a person. I don't walk alone or in the dark. If I go out the driver will wait for me to go into the house.

I suffer from everyday life.

I spent much of my life hiding.