Carol

“And that was the vow you realize Then there That long moment We're in it Two people that had ought to be dead and buried Now here you were in a room in a town together alive That's what the baby was telling you as she thumped around in your womb This is a miracle I will keep kicking until you get it.”
― Paul Murray, The Bee Sting

“he found himself asking was there any point in being alive without helping one another?”
― Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These

“She was no use at maths homework, and some days you could starve rather than get a hot meal from her, but Shuggie looked at her now and understood this was where she excelled. Everyday with the make-up on and her hair done, she climbed out of her grave and held her head high. When she had disgraced herself with drink, she got up the next day, put on her best coat, and faced the world. When her belly was empty and her weans were hungry, she did her hair and let the world think otherwise.”
― Douglas Stuart, Shuggie Bain

“In the end, he told himself some days, there is only what is done and what is not done. That is a life, that is what remains behind... It did not matter what sort of men or women they had been in life... his inner self would be lost to time, as he himself would be lost.”
― Steven Price, Lampedusa