I was cold, and went down into the back yard to chop some wood for a fire. Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and brought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect halves. Such was my elation that I ran inside, put on our ancient cracked record of Aretha Franklin singing Respect and danced all by myself for half an hour in our living room, without inhibition, almost crying with jubilation - not just about the wood, but because I could live competently some of the time, and because that day I liked myself.
- Helen Garner | Monkey Grip
