Yan Dun

“need to open my eyes and look—and be aware of life as it is happening, and not simply how I want it to be.”
― Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

“When I asked what she wanted that day to be like, first she said, “Well, I’d rather not be dead that day,” but failing that, she didn’t want it to be all “sugarcoated” and “cheery.” She liked the idea of a “celebration of life,” which the party planner told her was all the rage nowadays, but she didn’t like the message that came with it.

“It’s a funeral, for God’s sake,” she said. “All these people in my cancer group say, ‘I want people to celebrate! I don’t want people to be sad at my funeral.’ And I’m like, ‘Why the fuck not? You died!’”
― Lori Gottlieb, Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed

“The women laugh a little. I do too. Though I’m only mimicking their laughter. Nothing is funny to me.”
― Gregg Olsen, The Sound of Rain

“I recommend you stick to your own species, Shy Babe.”
― James Patterson, The Final Warning