I’m named for the great young Pashtun heroine Malalai, who inspired her countrymen with her courage.
“I don’t like knowing people in the context of things. "Oh, that’s the person I work out with. That’s the person I’m in a book club with. That’s the person I did that show with." Because once the context ends, so does the friendship”
― I'm Glad My Mom Died
― I'm Glad My Mom Died
“the only trick of friendship, I think, is to find people who are better than you are—not smarter, not cooler, but kinder, and more generous, and more forgiving—and then to appreciate them for what they can teach you, and to try to listen to them when they tell you something about yourself, no matter how bad—or good—it might be, and to trust them, which is the hardest thing of all. But the best, as well.”
― A Little Life
― A Little Life
“You may find that your God is strong enough to handle your anger, strong enough to feel compassion and love for you, even in the midst of your anger at him.”
― On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss
― On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss
“That’s really what grief has taught me. That I can survive. I used to be afraid that if I experienced grief it would overcome me and I wouldn’t be able to survive the flood of it, that if I actually felt it I wouldn’t be able to get back up. It’s taught me that I can feel it and it won’t swallow me whole. But we come from a culture where we think people have to be strong. I’m a big believer in being vulnerable, open to grief. That is strength. You can’t know joy unless you know profound sadness. They don’t exist without each other.”
― On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss
― On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss
“I want readers to reconsider the capacity of our fathers’ hearts. Many of them were handed so little, yet we expected so much.”
― Don't Cry for Me
― Don't Cry for Me
mikayla’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at mikayla’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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