Born in Paris to Cuban parents, Anaïs Nin was a prolific writer who detailed the intimate details of her personal life in numerous journals, many of which were eventually published. Nin’s shrewd understanding of the human condition is reflected in this quote from a November 1941 journal entry, in which she addressed a friend’s instinct to run from confusion. “You can’t run away,” she told her friend. “It’s destructive.” Facing life’s uncertainties head on — even if it means muddling through them until we find clarity — is how we come to better understand who we are and what we want.