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My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

- Mary Gaitskill
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Author:
Mary Gaitskill
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Memories
Childhood
Mother
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The two basic social identities were Normal and Greaser; although a few sophisticated girls wore peace signs, hippies didn't exist, and while a seminal punk band, Iggy and the Stooges, was playing in nearby Ann Arbor, punk didn't exist yet, either.

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On the rare occasions when my mother perfumed herself, she was going out, and so I rarely smelled those special scents up close on her body, except during kisses goodbye.

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At 16, I was in Toronto and very shy and not hanging around with anyone who was intellectual in the slightest, so I didn't really have the means to discuss what I was seeing and feeling.

I had a strong conviction that there was something out there in the world that was wonderful.

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My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.

My first and strongest memories about perfume come from childhood, from my mother, and they are a complex blend of her private and public selves.