Amanda Putman

“And though the implication is that I am the sort who is always careful and preparing, I that that's not right, either' in fact I feel I have not really been living anywhere or anytime, not for the future and not in the past and not at all of-the-moment, but rather in a lonely dream of an oblivion, the nothing-of-nothing drift from one pulse beat to the next, which is really the most bloodless marking-out, automatic and involuntary. [pp. 320-321]”
― Chang-rae Lee, A Gesture Life

“the most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

“It’s not always enough to go looking for the place we belong. Sometimes we need to make that place.”
― Sangu Mandanna, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

“I reminded myself to live for today, not the fears of tomorrow—a promise I had made to myself when I started working in hospice.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments