Counterpoint Press

“Nobody warned me about this part. When I envisioned my trip, I imagined exciting adventures, exotic locales, a jet-set lifestyle. I never thought grief and doubt would climb into my backpack and come with me. I pictured standing at the top of the Sun Gate, looking down at Machu Picchu, without ever thinking about the steps it would take to get there. This is the curse of wanderlust, when the postcard image becomes a brutal reality.”
― Maggie Downs, Braver Than You Think: Around the World on the Trip of My (Mother’s) Lifetime

“In planting trees, aim to perpetuate an ecosystem, not a plantation.”
― Daniel Mathews, Trees in Trouble: Wildfires, Infestations, and Climate Change

“Never mind that she’s been hearing this soliloquy from strangers since she was born, in the Year of the Fire Horse, twin sixes after the nineteen. Never mind the order of questions invariably changes even if the questions themselves do not: 'How long have y’all lived here? Do you even speak English? Oh, well. Your English is so good. Bless your heart, you must miss your people. You stick out like a raisin in a big bowl of oatmeal. Is it true that you worship cows? . . . Have you even heard of the Bible? Don’t get all uppity on me, don’t turn away. I know you think you don’t have to listen. But this is my country. You do. When are y’all heading back? Y’all best be getting back to where you came from, you hear? No need to overstay your welcome.”
― Devi S. Laskar, The Atlas of Reds and Blues

“When the road stretches long and dark and ragged, it’s sweetness that remains at the end of it.”
― Maggie Downs, Braver Than You Think: Around the World on the Trip of My (Mother’s) Lifetime