Stitches: A Memoir Suffering Quotes

The fourth panel of the sequence in which David's grandmother scalds his hands is perhaps the most frightening of all—you can see both a scowl and a smile on her face in her reflection in the bathroom mirror. This is David's first experience—at least the first one he shows us—of someone experiencing pleasure while inflicting pain.

David's thoughts after his grandmother burns him are the first time we see him internalize other people's dissatisfaction with him. When people tell you all the time that you're stupid/worthless/annoying, it's hard not to start to tell yourself those things, even if they're not true.

In which David's dad prolongs David's suffering to help lessen his own. If his wife is happy, she makes the whole family suffer less.