Nadhirah

“Maybe we give other names to grief because we are too scared to call it by its name.”
― Elif Shafak, The Island of Missing Trees

“At the end of the day, we all remember for the same reason we try to forget: to survive in a world that neither understands nor values us.”
― Elif Shafak, The Island of Missing Trees

“People assume it’s a matter of personality, the difference between optimists and pessimists. But I believe it all comes down to an inability to forget. The greater your powers of retention, the slimmer your chances at optimism.”
― Elif Shafak, The Island of Missing Trees

“But not everyone needs to be a warrior, my dear. Otherwise we’d never have poets, artists, scientists …’ ‘I disagree,’ said Defne into her wine glass. ‘There are moments in life when everyone has to become a warrior of some kind. If you are a poet, you fight with your words; if you are an artist, you fight with your paintings … But you can’t say, “Sorry, I’m a poet, I’ll pass.” You don’t say that when there’s so much suffering, inequality, injustice.”
― Elif Shafak, The Island of Missing Trees