Zofia

“Presumably, remembered suffering never feels as bad as present suffering, even if it was really a lot worse - we can't remember how much worse it was, because remembering is weaker than experiencing.”
― Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You

“This water is cool and clean as anything I have ever tasted; it tastes of my father leaving, of him never having been there, of having nothing after he was gone.”
― Claire Keegan, Foster

“I felt a fear I’d had before: I needed the people in my life more than they needed me. This fear made me want to be useful and polite and good, so no one would ever tire of me; I had noticed the way some people, like my brother and father, drained the around them. And then I saw the problem from a different angle, in a different light, blinding and new: I had to care less about people. I had to separate myself from others. Let them need and miss me. Nothing exhausted me more than trying not to care. It was an effort, always. But it was necessary.”
― Santiago Jose Sanchez, Hombrecito

“There is a noise that is different to grief. Sadness wails and cries and lets loose a sound to the heavens like a baby calling for its mother. That kind of noisy grief is hopeful. It believes that things can be put right, or that help can come. There is a different kind of sound to that. Babies left alone too long do not even cry. They become very still and quiet. They know no one is coming.”
― Naomi Alderman, The Power