Hafsa Salman

“I tell myself that I want to live a happy life, and that the circumstances for happiness just haven't arisen. But what if that's not true? What if I'm the one who can't let myself be happy? Because I'm scared, or I prefer to wallow in self-pity, or I don't believe I deserve good things, or some other reason. Whenever something good happens to me I always find myself thinking: I wonder how long it will be until this turns out badly. And I almost want the worst to happen sooner, sooner rather than later, and if possibile straight away, so at least I don't have to feel anxious about it anymore.”
― Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You

“But we all have something wrong with us anyway, don't we? I looked at the internet for too long today and started feeling depressed.”
― Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You

“Who is now alone, will long remain so, / will wake, read, write long letters / and wander restlessly here and there / along the avenues, as the leaves are drifting.”
― Sally Rooney, Beautiful World, Where Are You

“But as time passed, I came to realize that there was only so much I could do myself. That in the end, people who are grieving have to want to move on—that first step, that motivating spark, has to come from within them. And when it does, it opens the door to the unexpected.”
― Nicholas Sparks, Safe Haven