Olivia

“You are never stronger...than when you land on the other side of despair.”
― Zadie Smith, White Teeth

“She closes her eyes. He probably won’t come back, she thinks. Or he will, differently. What they have now they can never have back again. But for her the pain of loneliness will be nothing to the pain that she used to feel, of being unworthy. He brought her goodness like a gift and now it belongs to her. Meanwhile his life opens out before him in all directions at once. They’ve done a lot of good for each other. Really, she thinks, really. People can really change one another.
You should go, she says. I’ll always be here. You know that.”
― Sally Rooney, Normal People

“Life offers up these moments of joy despite everything,”
― Sally Rooney, Normal People

“… there’s a difference between having no one because you’ve chosen it and having no one because everyone has been taken away.”
― Helen Oyeyemi, Mr. Fox