Jem

“Men tell stories. Women get on with it. For us it was a shadow war. There were no parades for us when it was over, no medals or mentions in history books. We did what we had to during the war, and when it was over, we picked up the pieces and started our lives over.”
― Kristin Hannah, The Nightingale

“I lifted my chin, meeting the eyes of the woman who’d become the living embodiment of my totem, my bright phoenix, and forged ahead. “But I live with the wrong choices, the paths untraveled, the lives lost, and I never hold those regrets against anyone but myself. So, if you have some reason that you think I’ll regret getting in that car or not getting in that car, then tell me. Because I won’t have anything between us, either.” My mind flashed to an hourglass, grains of sand trickling away, carrying my life with them. “At least, nothing that we can avoid...like the fear of unspoken words.”
― Marie Castle, Hell's Belle

“The same lustrous blue that took her into a where and when beyond time and space and caring, took her to Safe, where everything was beautiful. Even her harrowing pain and plundered hope were beautiful. But she got pulled back, away from the blue, away from Safe and beautiful, back to the imprisonment of existing.”
― Sophia Kell Hagin, Shadows of Something Real

“Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”
― Carter Crocker