Natalie Dien

“None of us can change what has happened to us, the clawed creature said. But if we are lucky, we live. If we are lucky, we do not lose more than we can afford. Much regrows. Claws, tail, teeth, even the vaporous stuff the poets call the soul. And bitter experience provides material for art. Ask a shipwreck. Ask an oyster.”
― E Lily Yu, Jewel Box

“Art, like religious devotion, either adds life or steals it. It is never neutral.”
― Christian Wiman

“You're living in a vacuum, Pony, and you're going to have to cut it out. Johnny and Dallas were our buddies, too, but you don't just stop living because you lose someone. I thought you knew that by now. You don't just quit!”
― S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders

“I will tell you about your family and the different places your parents grew up, and where your ancestors came from. I will grow roots for you, so that you are not adrift and alone in the dark. You will know where you came from. You will know where you are going.”
― E Lily Yu, Jewel Box