Rachel Drenning

“suppose my mother taught me a lesson that day; be grateful for what comes your way and don’t expect too much from life. A cynical viewpoint, some might think, especially in one so young.”
― Catherine McCarthy, Immortelle

“I had before me an object lesson, I thought: two ways to face the world. One way as embodied by this old woman—simple, unassuming, a kind of peasant dignity, a naturalness inherent in her every move. The other, exemplified by the girl—smartness, sophistication, veneer without substance. I was conscious that I have now opted for the old woman’s way, have thrown in my lot with a creature I would have jeered at a year ago. My present trip to the mountains is indeed a trip to that wellspring of naturalness she symbolized. And I admired my choice: the correct choice, the only choice for a sensitive and moral man in my dilemma.”
― Lee Smith, Oral History

“Life is harsh, either way. You either hate the years that you’re given, or you love the years and they leave you.”
― Gillian Dowell, Hello, Dove

“People like to say some boys are just born bad and they grow up to be worse men, but I can’t get behind anythin’ so foolish. Boys are born clean. We’re the ones who dirty ’em, just as I believe Roy dirtied his son.”
― Kristopher Triana, The Ruin Season