“I came to theory desperate, wanting to comprehend…”

bell hooks (1994: 59). Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practise of Freedom.

I came to theory because I was hurting – the pain within me was so intense that I could not go on living. I came to theory desperate, wanting to comprehend – to grasp what was happening around and within me. Most importantly, I wanted to make the hurt go away. I saw in theory then a location for healing.