these words (are good) together

“Books had always been her solace; novels gave her the space to be bold, brave, beautiful, if only in her own imagination.”

You can be broken, or broken open. That choice is yours.

It's good to be reminded that the world is full of stories that are, potentially, at least as painful as yours.

He shook his head. "These things frighten people. It's best not to talk about them."

I want to remind you of the undertow, of the specific gravity. American society has a remarkable ability to resist change, or to take whatever change has taken place and attempt to make it go away. Things are different for you than they were for us. [...] Don't underestimate how much antagonism there is toward women and how many people wish we could turn the clock back.

But who can say what's best? That's why you need to grab whatever chance you have of happiness where you find it, and not worry about other people too much. My experience tells me that we get no more than two or three such chances in a life time, and if we let them go, we regret it for the rest of our lives.

She thinks before she acts. Or more properly, she thinks instead of acts. A character flaw, not a virtue.

The most it ever seems we know how to do with time, is to waste it.

Is there a word for the moment you win tug-of-war? When the weight gives, and all that extra rope comes hurtling towards you, how even though you've won, you still end up with muddy knees and burns on your hands? Is there a word for that? I wish there was.

Because you are defined not by life's imperfect moments, but by your reaction to them. And because there is joy in embracing - rather than running from - the utter absurdity of life.

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.