Lauren

“What do you do not to feel sad?", I ask.
"I let myself feel sad.”
― Coco Mellors, Cleopatra and Frankenstein

“She was an artist, like you. With a—I don’t know how to say this well—an ego that is large but self-esteem that is small?”
― Coco Mellors, Cleopatra and Frankenstein

“Fondness was the best word she could think of to describe what they felt for each other. Fondness was warm but not tepid, the color of amber, more affectionate than friendship but less complicated than love.”
― Coco Mellors, Cleopatra and Frankenstein

“Everyone I know is either more successful or more interesting than me. This realization is nothing new. In fact, it used to feel like everyone I didn’t know was more successful and interesting than me too. I still remember the sensation of watching a talent show on TV as a child and realizing that the girl dancing was a whole year younger than me. She was wearing a red sequin dress and patent tap shoes. She looked like a ruby, a human jewel spinning across the stage. I was in my pajamas from T.J. Maxx eating cereal for dinner, already destined for a life of mediocrity. Why didn’t I just pull myself together back then? I was five! I could have turned it around!”
― Coco Mellors, Cleopatra and Frankenstein