Monica Arya > Quotes

“A reflection of nothing more than a broken, shattered girl. I was drowning in life. I didn’t know if I could swim to shore... it seemed so much easier to give in and float away. Forever.”
― Monica Arya, Girl in the Reflection

“Sometimes it’s not the number of tears we shed that measure our pain… sometimes it’s the number of smiles we forge.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“The biggest mistake we make is to believe that our lives are solely ours to control. We are often mere puppets even in our own stories and I’m positive there is nothing more terrifying than that.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“Humans aren’t afraid of the dark because of the lack of light; we’re afraid of the dark because we fear the places our own minds will take us.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“Fear is a simple reaction, but strength is a decision.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“He walked as if he were floating; he oozed confidence and zero self-doubt—character traits I believed all men should come equipped with. Women, well, we couldn’t be like that since we were wired to be creatures of self-doubt. Self-doubt that would ultimately consume us and every action we took.”
― Monica Arya, Girl in the Reflection

“Did you ask Brody about the Spring Fling? I never heard back from you, which is very irresponsible I may add.”
― Monica Arya, Shades of Her

“Really? How does one become tired of music?” She flipped the water off and dried her manicured hands. “When the noise is used to conceal your thoughts, and you no longer can hear the one voice that will help you survive.” I shuddered as I thought back to the small window that shook and vibrated as music rose from the bars below. They couldn’t hear our screams, they couldn’t hear our cries… they couldn’t hear the pain in our prayers. All because the music concealed the truth. Because that’s what music does; it removes us from reality and loses us into the melodies and words that resonate with us, or don’t, but either way, we hope to find some form of truth in the songs. I never found truth in the often-melodramatic country songs—I hated it all. I hated the optimism, the way the musician would take heartbreak or pain and guarantee a positive outcome. Meanwhile, we were right there, hovered in the dark—shaking, bleeding, aching… Aching for them to stop singing. So maybe then, someone, anyone, could hear us. But they never did…”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“was so messed up; I just fucked my best friend’s husband against my closet while she was downstairs, and I didn’t even feel remorse. I hated myself.”
― Monica Arya, Shades of Her

“Something I had realized as a wife and mother is you can’t blame people for disappointing you when maybe, you were expecting too much from them.”
― Monica Arya, Don't Believe Him

“Brody and I never really had much to talk about. He was a man who loved tennis, studying legal jargon, and talking about politics. Meanwhile, I could tell you how to layer Vaseline on your teeth to make sure your lipstick doesn’t streak onto them,”
― Monica Arya, Shades of Her

“Most of all, I’ll be thankful because as long as I have air in my lungs, I’m going to remind myself to just breathe.”
― Monica Arya, The Next Mrs. Wimberly

“The biggest mistake we make is to believe that our lives are solely ours to control.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“The memories flooded my mind. I wasn’t raised in Gatlinburg. I wasn’t born here. I could still picture it all. Us, boarding the plane from our small village in India with the strange men with light skin and hair I’d never seen before. My sister clutching a worn teddy bear, lacing her fingers into mine as our parents counted through stacks of money. They didn’t even look at us; they didn’t kiss us goodbye or shed tears of sadness. Instead, they smiled. The paper in their hands brought them more happiness than their own daughters.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“Why is she in there, Conrad?” My voice shook as I closed my eyes with my hand across my pounding heart as if I could steady it. “She’s in there by choice.” “If she has psychiatric issues, then why is she not seeing a psychiatrist? Why would she need your dad?” “My dad is helping them, Demi. He’s doing a free experimental study—it’s actually FDA approved. He’s saving the lives no one else could.” Conrad tilted my head up, forcing me to open my eyes and look at him. “Do you actually believe that?” I squinted at him as his fingers traced my jawline. “Yes, I do.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“Second, anyone who tells you they will make your dreams come true, will in fact make your nightmares come alive.”
― Monica Arya, The Next Mrs. Wimberly

“The worst position to be in is a person without choices, because that means others can make decisions for you.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“Sometimes setting someone else free means imprisoning yourself, and that’s exactly what I had to do.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“This is the part where any normal woman with a shade of shame would slap the grin off of his face and run home—to her husband and children. To her home nestled”
― Monica Arya, Shades of Her

“Their retirement from kidnapping, raping, murdering, and gutting innocent women. Sipping piña coladas and having no remorse was the end-game.”
― Monica Arya, The Next Mrs. Wimberly

“She had never been there with me. She was an illusion from stacks of photos of her and a simple note that spoke louder than anyone else had in my life.”
― Monica Arya, The Next Mrs. Wimberly

“Situations that wrap us up in a wrath like a deadly tornado and then when we’re finally out of it, all we are left with is immense destruction. The worst part of it all is knowing had we listened to our inner sirens, perhaps we could have avoided the storm and its aftermath.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“You can be in the trenches of life, but if you swipe on a good shade of lipstick, it melts the pain away slightly.”
― Monica Arya, Navy Lies

“Why did I always feel like he was interrogating me? It was a strange sensation, one I couldn’t find the words to describe nor pinpoint what I really meant.”
― Monica Arya, The Next Mrs. Wimberly

“You don’t realize that when you’re in a hole, it’s already dark. It’s already hard to breathe. No one can see you or help you. So why would you scream if you’re never going to be heard?”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“dream. Maybe that’s why I loved to read so much. I could escape my reality and live a thousand lives through the pages”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“Fear is a simple reaction”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“Demi, you have to dress for the job you eventually want, not the job you’re qualified for.” Raina’s face shifted.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“Because I feel the fucking pain that I’m inflicting on myself, but at least… at least, I’m the one inflicting it this time.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl

“Fear is a simple reaction, but strength is a decision. Make the decision that can save your life.”
― Monica Arya, The Favorite Girl