THE GLASS CHILD
CHARLOTTE ERIKSSON
Author. Songwriter. Dreamer. Wanderer.
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Everything Changed When I Forgave Myself
growing up is a wonderful thing to do
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The 4th book from songwriter & author Charlotte Eriksson is a narrative journey of both prose and poetry, meditating on the joys and struggles of growing up. It's about consciously creating yourself, finding a place in the world and not being afraid to get lost on the way.
“I'm not everything I want to be, but I'm more than I was, and I'm still learning."
BOOKS MADE WITH LOVE
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I'm trying, as I always will.
I get so goddamn lonely and sad and filled with regrets some days. It overwhelms me as I’m sitting on the bus, watching the golden leaves from a window; a sudden burst of realisation in the middle of the night. I can’t help it and I can’t stop it. I’m alone as I’ve always been and sometimes it hurts.
But I’m learning to breathe deeply through it and keep walking. I’m learning to make things nice for myself. To comfort my own heart when I wake up feeling sad. To find small bits of friendship in a crowd full of strangers. To find small bits of joy in a blue sky, from a trip somewhere not so far away. A long walk on an early morning in December, or a handwritten letter to an old friend with nothing but “I thought of you. I hope you’re well.”
No one will come and save you. No one will come riding on a white horse and take all your worries away. You have to save yourself, little by little, day by day. Build yourself a home. Nurture your body. Find something to work on. Something that makes you excited, something you want to learn. Get yourself some books and learn them by heart. Get to know the author, where he grew up, what books he read himself. Take yourself out for dinner. Dress up for no one but you and simply feel nice. It’s a lovely feeling, to feel pretty. You don’t need anyone to confirm it.
I get so goddamn lonely and sad and filled with regrets some days, but I’m learning to breathe deep through it and keep walking. I’m learning to make things nice for myself. Slowly building myself a home with things I like. Colours that calm me down, a plan to follow when things turn dark. A few people I try to treat right, even though I don’t sometimes, but it’s my intention to do so. I’m learning.
I’m learning to make things nice for myself. I’m learning to save myself.
I’m trying, as I always will.
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My Story
I am... a walking contradiction and I’m no longer apologizing for it. The quiet hours are not quiet at all—there’s always something tugging. A voice. A city. A possibility I haven’t touched yet.
The world spins with or without our consent, so we must learn to laugh. Or try. Or don’t. I don’t know. I only know this: the small things will save us. Coffee steam on a winter window, endless roads that disappear into nowhere, salt air in Portugal that tastes like something better could still happen.
The sea.
The sea.
Always the sea.
Or a new pair of eyes, staring into mine.
I love people who are loud and reckless,
but I’m mostly quiet. I'm mostly sharp elbows.
3am Friday nights, all I want is to ask everyone if love is really it, the thing? and how did you keep breathing when it left?
I still don’t know how to stop aching.
People are beautiful and impossible. They carry their own weather systems, their own private earthquakes. I need to know what you dream about. What did you give up? Why did you choose the life you're living?
Some days, I couldn't care less what anyone thinks of my art because this isn’t content; this is my life. But most days, I just want to be seen. And heard. And felt. I need you to understand what I'm saying, ok?
At eighteen I left Sweden with a rucksack, a guitar, and a dream, thinking: if I move fast enough, I can outrun everything that scares me. I was wrong about the running. But I was right about the moving.
I gave my life to my art, convinced I had something to prove to a world that wasn’t even asking. I went everywhere and nowhere. Slept on concrete. Talked to strangers who saved me for a night. Walked foreign streets until my bones showed a little too much. Eventually, I stopped looking for home in people and started building it in moments. A rooftop in a city whose name I still mispronounce. Three lines of a song that finally say what I meant.
My life is the space between departure and arrival; what could have been and what still can be. The art of staying open while everything tries to close. The refusal to settle for safety when there are still holy moments out there, calling my name.
I believe you can design your life any way you want—if you're willing to risk the blueprint. Break the pattern. Walk off-script.
When I sing, I stop disappearing. When I write, I come home. This isn’t a phase or a detour. This is the way.
I wanted to turn existence into art.
Instead, art taught me how to exist.
It might not always be easy, but it will always be beautiful.
★★★★★
"I recommend this book for anyone feeling lost, depressed, lonely, immigrants especially, or people who are abroad for study or work, away from family or who travel a lot without setting roots anywhere. We're not alone in what we feel."
– Madalina, US
★★★★★
"This is a book not about finding yourself, but creating yourself. Split into two parts, it covers an artist's journey to turn her creative talents inward, and shape who she will be in years to come."
– Dustin Bragg, US
★★★★★
"I loved this book.
The author writes beautifully and so earnestly that you find yourself immersed in the author's thoughts, reflections and life experiences.
A true free spirit. A lover of life and hope. A passionate advocate for strength, growth, and re-invention.
This is a book which I will be re-reading regularly to feel a little less alone with my uncertainties and during dark times.
I know I will be soothed by the words I will read. Reading this book felt very therapeutic. Many thanks to the author."
“I am entering a new phase. I am done with my childish sorrow. I no longer want to vagabond my way through life, a little to the right, feeling left behind. I want to become a person of warmth and integrity. I want to feel certain and at peace, knowing my own worth and ways, and I want to create my own self and my own life and I no longer want to feel left behind.
Maybe I can grow into someone I will be proud to be.
It’s time to grow into someone I’m proud to be."
