Leah Brown

“A part of every girl is poised to defend herself, long before she knows why she might need to.”
― Clare Mackintosh, The Last Party

“We are undone by the specificity of our dreams. Reality can never live up to the shining edifices we forge inside our fantasies: Life, in all its confusing complexity, is destined to be a disappointment in comparison. The lottery winner discovers that the riches don’t equal happiness; the longed-for baby is colicky and sour; losing fifty pounds still doesn’t bring you love; winning the election doesn’t trigger societal change. Life is a constant emotional calibration, then: the tiny adjustments we make every day as we come up against our discontents. We ride this seesaw, between hope and disenchantment, seeking some sort of equilibrium.”
― Janelle Brown, What Kind of Paradise

“Wolkenkuckucksheim [cloud-cuckoo-land]”
― Stephen E. Ambrose, D-Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of WW II

“The tradition of men as guardians and protectors had quite died out. These stalwart virgins had no men to fear and therefore no need of protection.”
― Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Herland / The Yellow Wallpaper