“Choosing a life without them doesn’t mean you stop caring about them. It just means that you can’t allow them to harm you anymore. But if you don’t think your life would be better without them in it, then accept that they have cracks. Try to understand how they got them and help fill them with something that isn’t ice.” She peered at me. “If you can choose anger or empathy, always choose empathy, Justin. It’s so much healthier than anger.”
― Just for the Summer
― Just for the Summer
“Unhealed trauma is a crack. And all the little hard things that trickle into it that would have rolled off someone else, settle. Then when life gets cold, that crack gets bigger, longer, deeper. It makes new breaks. You don’t know how broken she was or what she was trying to do to fill those cracks. Being broken is not an excuse for bad behavior, you still have to make good choices and do the right thing. But it can be the reason. And sometimes understanding the reason can be what helps you heal.”
― Just for the Summer
― Just for the Summer
“No," he says quietly. "In every universe, it's you for me. Even if it's not me for you.”
― Happy Place
― Happy Place
“Maybe home isn’t a place. Maybe it’s a person.”
― Just for the Summer
― Just for the Summer
“You are not what happened to you. You are what you do next.”
― Just for the Summer
― Just for the Summer
Sandra’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Sandra’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Sandra
Lists liked by Sandra









