Is the obsession what is bringing me to the edge of the abyss, or is it what is supposed to rescue me – the last fingernail-hold at the edge? Or like the self-defeating compensations of the neurotic, is it both?
“Yes, it seems to me that the fairies and the genies had it right when they said, “be careful what you wish for, cuz you’re gonna get it.” It’s worked out in my life. I’m not gonna tell you what I wished for, but I got it. It always comes back, there’s always a catch, and the catch kicks you in the teeth.”
Stanley Elkin