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“We call those who have lost their spouses “widows” and children who have lost their parents “orphans,” but there is no word in the English language to describe a parent who loses a child. Your children are supposed to outlive you by many decades, to confront the burden of mortality only by way of your dying. To witness your child’s death is a hell too heavy for the fabric of language. Words simply collapse.”
― Suleika Jaouad, Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted

“It was the golden time of year. Every day the leaves grew brighter, the air sharper, the grass more brilliant. The sunsets seemed to expand and melt and stretch for hours, and the brick façades glowed pink, and everything got bluer. How many perfect autumns did a person get?”
― Elif Batuman, Either/Or

“It is the certainty of never that hurts most. The knowledge that I will never eat star-shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with her in the pediatric ward again. Never dance around her living room, headbanging our wigs to the beat. Never watch her paint a new masterpiece. I understand why people believe in the afterlife, why they soothe themselves with the faith that those who are no longer with us still exist elsewhere, eternally, in a celestial realm free of pain. As for me, all I know is that here on this earth, I cannot find my friend.”
― Suleika Jaouad, Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted

“Vart ska vi fara? säger Johannes
Nej nu frågar du som om du fortfarande var vid liv, säger Peter
Inte till någon plats? säger Johannes
Nej dit vi nu ska, det är inte någon plats, och därför har den heller inte något namn, säger Peter
Är det farligt? säger Johannes
Farligt, nej, säger Peter
Farligt är ett ord, det finns inga ord där, säger Peter
Gör det ont? säger Johannes
Det finns inte kroppar där, så ont finns inte, säger Peter
Men själen, gör det ont i själen där? säger Johannes”
― Jon Fosse, Morgon og kveld