Elizabeth Strout

William is the only person I ever felt safe with. He is the only home I ever had

And—slowly—I realized this: This authority was why I had fallen in love with William. We crave authority. We do. No matter what anyone says, we crave that sense of authority. Of believing that in the presence of this person we are safe

I had not thought of this until now. To deny my husband any chance of comforting me—oh, it was an unspeakably awful thing.
And I had not known