Penny Quotes

“Just on the other side, safety- not freedom. I'm leaving freedom behind, and I can feel the earth's grief when I get out of the car. The tired weeds try to encircle my ankles. begging me to stay. They murmur stories about my ancestors. The ones who stood right where I stand. The ones whose discoveries and civilization encompassed the whole world. The one whose blood runs through my veins. My footprints sink deep into the soil where theirs have long since been washed away. They plead with me: It's your country. This earth belongs to me and my children.”
― Zoulfa Katouh, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

“He’s…honest. With everything. His thoughts, his expressions. He’s kind. It’s a rare kindness, Layla. I’m sure he still dreams. Maybe he’s the only one who still dreams. Maybe he’s the only one in the whole city who still dreams at night. And when he looks at me, I feel…I feel like I’m being seen, and there is…there is a tiny bit of hope.”
― Zoulfa Katouh, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

“With all the destruction happening down there, it's so easy to forget the beauty that's up here. The sky is so beautiful after rainfall.”
― Zoulfa Katouh, As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow

“Just as a single rainstorm can erode the banks and change the course of a river, so can a single circumstance of a girl’s life erase who she was before.”
― Shelley Read, Go as a River