Shonna

“Don't you find it odd," she continued, "that when you're a kid, everyone, all the world, encourages you to follow your dreams. But when you're older, somehow they act offended if you even try.”
― Ethan Hawke, The Hottest State

“The world and its people are too much for me.
I am crushed between empathy and impotence.
I don't think I'm important. Not at all!
In fact, I am embarrassingly insubstantial.
Then why was I given this heart?
It is so much more than I need.”
― Amity Gaige, Heartwood

“That real mother, the mother that you get, you've got to love her, there's no choice. She is the mother you needed. She gave you strength, either because she loved you well or because she loved you poorly. She gave you your mission.
It's the dream mother that you have to let go of. The one you pined for, the one you thought your decency promised you. She's the one you've got to bury.
She's a mirage. She'll only break your heart.”
― Amity Gaige, Heartwood

“Here’s an idea: All emotions start out as love. Later, that love is worked on by the forces of luck and suffering. Hate is just soured love. Fear is wounded love. Longing is homeless love. Love, not pain, is the mother. Love is the taproot. I have no regrets. I do not regret anything.”
― Amity Gaige, Heartwood