“Death might appear to destroy the meaning in our lives, but in fact it is the very source of our creativity. As Kafka said, “The meaning of life is that it ends.” Death is the engine that keeps us running, giving us the motivation to achieve, learn, love, and create.”
― Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
― Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
“Exposing a young child to the realities of love and death is far less dangerous than exposing them to the lie of the happy ending.”
― Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
― Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
“Accepting death doesn't mean you won't be devastated when someone you love dies. It means you will be able to focus on your grief, unburdened by bigger existential questions like, "Why do people die?" and "Why is this happening to me?" Death isn't happening to you. Death is happening to us all.”
― Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
― Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
“If my decomposing carcass helps nourish the roots of a juniper tree or the wings of a vulture—that is immortality enough for me. And as much as anyone deserves,”
― Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
― Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory
“We tell stories of the dead as a way of making a sense of the living. More than just simple urban legends and campfire tales, ghost stories reveal the contours of our anxieties, the nature of our collective fears and desires, the things we can’t talk about in any other way. The past we’re most afraid to speak aloud of in the bright light of day is the same past that tends to linger in the ghost stories we whisper in the dark.”
― Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places
― Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places
Lauren’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Lauren’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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