Nikki Welch

“People don’t gather after a death to mourn, but rather to reaffirm why life matters and to remember to exult in the only one we’ll ever have. We hold funerals, memorials, celebrations—whatever you want to call them—to seek and to find the heart of the matter of this trip we call Life.”
― Heather Lende, Find the Good: Unexpected Life Lessons from a Small-Town Obituary Writer

“Other people have all kinds of names for their grandparents: grandpa, nana, pop pop, granny and so on, yet I've never heard anyone say mamaw or papaw outside of our community. These names belong only to Hillbilly grandparents”
― J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

“He finished his food quickly and then nervously looked from person to person. I could tell that he wanted to ask a question, so I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and asked if he needed anything. 'Yeah,' he started, refusing to make eye contact. And then, almost in a whisper: 'I wonder if I could get a few more french fries.' He was hungry – in 2014, in the richest country on Earth. He wanted a little extra to eat, but felt uncomfortable asking.”
― J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis

“The word "noise" is derived from the Latin word nausea.”
― Michael Finkel, The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit