Catherine Barrett

“It’s only a game. It only resolves tiny, insignificant things. Such as who gets validation. Who gets listened to. It allocates power and draws boundaries and turns some people into stars and others into spectators. That’s all.”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown

“This parenthood thing didn’t come with instructions, that’s all I’m saying.
You spit on the napkin.
Then you wipe the child’s face with the napkin. You don’t spit straight onto the child.
My bad.”
― Fredrik Backman, Saker min son behöver veta om världen

“All their lives, girls are told that the only thing they need to do is their best. That that will be enough, as long as they give everything they’ve got. When they themselves become mothers, they promise their daughters that it’s true, that if we just do as well as we can, if we’re honest and work hard, look after our family and love each other, then everything will be all right. Everything will be fine, there’s nothing to be frightened of. Children need the lie to be brave enough to sleep in their beds; parents need it to be able to get up the next morning.”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown

“She was fifteen and had access to the Internet; she already knew that the world is a cruel place if you’re a girl. Her parents couldn’t imagine that this could happen, but Maya simply hadn’t expected it to happen to her.”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown