Madhuri (Mads)

“My dad once told me it’s best to think of each story as a journey. Each sentence, even each word, is a step toward your destination, and you have to be careful where you step as a storyteller because the people are stepping after you. You want to make sure they’re going where you want them to go, because you’re carving a path together.”
― Alicia Elliott, And Then She Fell

“The thing about getting old, Bar,” Toot had told me, “is that you’re the same person inside.” I remember her eyes studying me through her thick bifocals, as if to make sure I was paying attention. “You’re trapped in this doggone contraption that starts falling apart. But it’s still you. You understand?” I did now.”
― Barack Obama, A Promised Land

“I experienced failure and learned to buck up so I could rally those who’d put their trust in me. I suffered rejections and insults often enough to stop fearing them. In other words, I grew up—and got my sense of humor back.”
― Barack Obama, A Promised Land

“I suspect that God’s plan, whatever it is, works on a scale too large to admit our mortal tribulations; that in a single lifetime, accidents and happenstance determine more than we care to admit; and that the best we can do is to try to align ourselves with what we feel is right and construct some meaning out of our confusion, and with grace and nerve play at each moment the hand that we’re dealt.”
― Barack Obama, A Promised Land