Joanna Holman

“Dr. Deveaux stopped and looked at me hard. He leaned in and whispered, 'The rest is all bullshit, Miss Drake. It's as simple as that. Your purpose here in life is to discern the real thing from the bullshit, and then to choose the non-bullshit. Think of the opportunity that God has given you to study as the means by which to attain your own personal bullshit detector. Sometimes that will be particularly difficult, because those who proclaim to know the truth, well intentioned or not, are spewing the most bullshit. But you will know when you have been properly ravished. And then you'll see, how the entire world is eyeball deep in it and that we choose it, and that we choose it every day. But the good news is that, although we struggle with it, there is a way out. Yes, there is a very worthy antidote and option to all the bullshit.”
― Carolyn Weber, Surprised by Oxford

“To Take Back a Life

First, you must learn desire. Hold its
fruit in your hands. Unmarry it from
the hunger to be held, to be wanted, to
be called from the streets like the family
dog. You are not a 'good girl.' You are not
somebody's otherness. This is not a dress
rehearsal before a better kind of life.

Pick up your heavy burdens and leave
them at the gate. I will hold the door for
you.”
― Kate Baer, What Kind of Woman: Poems

“Interesting people are interested in things other than themselves. They’re educationally omnivorous. And so they end a lot of sentences with honest question marks.”
― Jessica Hagy, How to Be Interesting: In 10 Simple Steps

“giving a damn is seriously underrated and caring is a competitive advantage.”
― Bernadette Jiwa, Meaningful: The Story of Ideas That Fly