“I imagined them all thinking it was worth it. Telling me how much they loved me. All my life, when I thought of my future, that was what I pictured. Not a career. The things I thought would come with it. Happiness, love, safety. And that dream had been enough for a long time. What was school if not a chance to earn your worth? To prove, again and again, that you were measurably good. One more deal I struck with a disinterested universe: If I'm good enough, I'll be happy. I'll be loved. I'll be safe.”
― Happy Place
― Happy Place
“There doesn’t need to be a winner and a loser. You just have to care how the other person feels. You have to care more about them than you do about being right.”
― Happy Place
― Happy Place
“Want is a kind of thief. It’s a door in your heart, and once you know it’s there, you’ll spend your life longing for whatever’s behind it.”
― Happy Place
― Happy Place
“I imagined downtime, thoughtful gifts for my parents, the family vacations we’d never taken, their mortgage paid off. I imagined all their hard work finally repaid, all their sacrifices not only compensated but rewarded.
I imagined them thinking it was all worth it. Telling me how much they loved me.
All my life, when I thought of my future, that was what I pictured. Not a career. The things I thought would come with it.
Happiness, love, safety.
And that dream had been enough for a long time. What was school if not a chance to earn your worth?”
― Happy Place
I imagined them thinking it was all worth it. Telling me how much they loved me.
All my life, when I thought of my future, that was what I pictured. Not a career. The things I thought would come with it.
Happiness, love, safety.
And that dream had been enough for a long time. What was school if not a chance to earn your worth?”
― Happy Place
“My parents aren’t people of words, but they sacrificed so much. That’s love, and I hate that I want more from them. That I can’t just feel grateful for all they’ve given me, because at all times I’m aware of what it cost them.”
― Happy Place
― Happy Place
Amanda’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Amanda’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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