“The really important kind of freedom involves attention, and awareness, and discipline, and effort, and being able truly to care about other people and to sacrifice for them, over and over, in myriad petty little unsexy ways, every day.”
― This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life
― This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life
“If you can think of times in your life that you’ve treated people with extraordinary decency and love, and pure uninterested concern, just because they were valuable as human beings. The ability to do that with ourselves. To treat ourselves the way we would treat a really good, precious friend. Or a tiny child of ours that we absolutely loved more than life itself. And I think it’s probably possible to achieve that. I think part of the job we’re here for is to learn how to do it”
―
―
“I hope that one day you will have the experience of doing something you do not understand for someone you love.”
― Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
― Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
“... That no single, individual moment is in and of itself unendurable.”
― Infinite Jest
― Infinite Jest
Julia’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Julia’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Julia
Lists liked by Julia












