Natalya

“It's always loss, isn't it, that destabilizes everything and makes all the bricks inside of you come tumbling down. It's always the beginning or end of love that changes everything, that makes all the difference between happy and sad, capable and completely incapable.”
― Alex Dahl, The Boy at the Door

“I believe the same is true for most people who go into mental health. We are drawn to this profession because we are damaged - we study psychology to heal ourselves. Whether we are prepared to admit this or not is another question.”
― Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

“Between the two of us, I had the most to lose, that was obvious. Kathy would survive - she was fond of saying she was tough as nails. She'd pick herself up, dust herself off and forget all about me. But I wouldn't forget about her. How could I? Without Kathy I'd return to that empty, solitary existence I had endured before. I'd never met anyone like her again, never had that same connection or experience that depth of feelings for another human being. She was the love of my life - she was my life. And I wasn't ready to give her up. Not yet. Even though she had betrayed me, I still loved her. Perhaps I was crazy after all...”
― Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

“Each day I felt as if I were looking up from the bottom of a deep well.”
― Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail