Quotes from Am I Normal Yet?

Holly Bourne ·  434 pages

Rating: (6.5K votes)


“Because now people use the phrase OCD to describe minor personality quirks. "Oooh, I like my pens in a line, I'm so OCD."
NO YOU'RE FUCKING NOT.
"Oh my God, I was so nervous about that presentation, I literally had a panic attack."
NO YOU FUCKING DIDN'T.
"I'm so hormonal today. I just feel totally bipolar."
SHUT UP, YOU IGNORANT BUMFACE.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“Everyone's on the cliff edge of normal. Everyone finds life an utter nightmare sometimes, and there's no 'normal' way of dealing with it... There is no normal, Evelyn.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“Do you ever wonder,” he asked, “how we decide what’s mad and what isn’t? There’s so much crazy stuff in the world – everything’s a mess most of the time – but then people who can’t handle it are called mental and have films made about them… But what if they’re just reacting to the weirdness of the universe? Isn’t it more weird to just think everything’s okay, when it clearly isn’t?”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“Do you ever worry you’re being a teenager wrong?” I thought of the last three years. “I KNOW I’m being one wrong.” “I mean, what’s wrong with finding songs glorifying domestic violence offensive? What’s wrong with finding live music too loud? What’s wrong with a nice cup of tea and a chat?”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“Bad stuff happens, people are mean, there are no steps you can take that ensure the world leaves you alone. All you can do is try not to be one of those people who contributes to the bad.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?



“Being a woman, in this world, ultimately makes you crazy.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“Mental illnesses grab you by the leg, screaming, and chow you down whole.They make you selfish. They make you irrational. They make you irrational. They make you self-absorbed. They make you needy. They make you cancel plans last minute. They make you not very fun to spend time with. They make you exhausting to be near.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“He's been so changeable with her I'm surprised he's not been accepted to Hogwarts for his transfiguration skills.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“If we expect all men to have six-packs and biceps, we can't get mad when they expect us to be stick-figures with DD boobs.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“I want you to promise me that you'll stop comparing yourself to everyone else.'
'What?' I broke off the hug, not understanding.
'You. Evelyn. You're always like, 'I wish I coulld be like this' or 'I wish I could be more like so-and-so'. You're obsessed with being normal, but that's well boring, and you're extraordinary, Evie. Promise me you'll stop trying to stop stop being you'.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?



“Because now people use the phrase OCD to describe minor personality quirks. “Oooh, I like my pens in a line, I’m so OCD.” NO YOU’RE FUCKING NOT. “Oh my God, I was so nervous about that presentation, I literally had a panic attack.” NO YOU FUCKING DIDN’T.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“It was all very well being a strong independent woman, but it was hard when boys’ confusing behaviour kept making you lose your focus.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“She wouldn’t have understood. Or worse, she would’ve pretended to understand, but then got annoyed when her support didn’t magically cure me.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“Ha, that’s the problem. You have to exert brain control in order to do it, and isn’t a lack of control over your brain why you’re in therapy in the first place?”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“It was like I'd climbed Everest, had the summit in my sight, the flag in my hand, all ready to pierce it into the top of the mountain and say, "Whoopdedoo, I made it," and then an avalanche from out of nowhere swept me right back to the bottom of the mountain again. Was it worth bothering to try and climb it again? I was exhausted. I'd already climbed it. I didn't want to...but, then, what other choice was there?”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?



“So what’s the answer, Evie? What do we do?” I pulled a face and scratched my head. “Er…yeah…I’m not so sure. Maybe riot on the streets, raise a revolution and overthrow the entire system?” “Careful now,” Amber replied, spraying more neon pink icing crumbs onto the floor. “Talk like that gets people thrown into psychiatric institutions.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“Are you the conker whisperer or something?”
He grinned and dropped his spare one to the ground. “I am the whisperer of many things.”
“Yeah. Bullshit. You’re the whisperer of bullshit.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“Everyone's always scared for someone else's generation”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“Yeah, well, your penis seemed to really like someone else on Saturday.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


“Almost there..." I said, like I was taking my child to Disneyland.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?



“Las enfermedades mentales te agarran de la pierna entre gritos y te devoran por completo. Te hacen egoísta. Te hacen irracional. Te hacen ensimismada. Te hacen necesitada. Te hacen cancelar planes a última hora. Te hacen ser una persona no muy divertida con la que pasar el rato. Te hacen ser una compañía a la que acabas aborreciendo.”
― Holly Bourne, quote from Am I Normal Yet?


About the author

Holly Bourne
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