“What can I do with my happiness? How can I keep it, conceal it, bury it where I may never lose it? I want to kneel as it falls over me like rain, gather it up with lace and silk, and press it over myself again.”

French-born American diarist and writer

Anaïs Nin was a French-born American diarist, essayist, novelist, and writer of short stories and erotica. Born to Cuban parents in France, she later became an established author in the United States. She spent her early years in Spain and Cuba, then lived in Paris for about sixteen years before settling in the United States for the second half of her life. Her work is centered on diaries, fiction, and erotic writing, and she is known for moving between personal reflection and literary experimentation.