294 pages
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“I figure when I die, I can't take anything with me. So why not give?”
― quote from Enrique's Journey: The Story of a Boy's Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother
“There is a clear pattern in U.S. history: When we need labor, we welcome migrants. When we are in recession, we want them to leave.”
― quote from Enrique's Journey: The Story of a Boy's Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother
“Enrique will be left with his father, Luis, who has been separated from Lourdes for three years.”
― quote from Enrique's Journey: The Story of a Boy's Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother
“There is a clear pattern in U.S. history: When we need labor, we welcome migrants. When we are in recession, we want them to leave.”
― quote from Enrique's Journey: The Story of a Boy's Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother
“There is always, for some reason, an element of sadness mingled with my thoughts of human happiness, and, on this occasion, at the sight of a happy man I was overcome by an oppressive feeling that was close upon despair. It was particularly oppressive at night. A bed was made up for me in the room next to my brother’s bedroom, and I could hear that he was awake, and that he kept getting up and going to the plate of gooseberries and taking one. I reflected how many satisfied, happy people there really are! ‘What a suffocating force it is! You look at life: the insolence and idleness of the strong, the ignorance and brutishness of the weak, incredible poverty all about us, overcrowding, degeneration, drunkenness, hypocrisy, lying... Yet all is calm and stillness in the houses and in the streets; of the fifty thousand living in a town, there is not one who would cry out, who would give vent to his indignation aloud. We see the people going to market for provisions, eating by day, sleeping by night, talking their silly nonsense, getting married, growing old, serenely escorting their dead to the cemetery; but we do not see and we do not hear those who suffer, and what is terrible in life goes on somewhere behind the scenes... Everything is quiet and peaceful, and nothing protests but mute statistics: so many people gone out of their minds, so many gallons of vodka drunk, so many children dead from malnutrition... And this order of things is evidently necessary; evidently the happy man only feels at ease because the unhappy bear their burdens in silence, and without that silence happiness would be impossible. It’s a case of general hypnotism. There ought to be behind the door of every happy, contented man some one standing with a hammer continually reminding him with a tap that there are unhappy people; that however happy he may be, life will show him her laws sooner or later, trouble will come for him—disease, poverty, losses, and no one will see or hear, just as now he neither sees nor hears others. But there is no man with a hammer; the happy man lives at his ease, and trivial daily cares faintly agitate him like the wind in the aspen-tree—and all goes well.”
― Anton Chekhov, quote from Stories
“In arranged marriages in Iran, it is customary that after the family of the boy asks the family of the girl for her hand, they go to her house to discuss the arrangements with her parents. The girl shows her face only once, when she serves tea and sweets to the guests.”
― Maziar Bahari, quote from Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival
“I turned toward her with red, puffy eyes. Her own eyes widened with concern, and she froze as she watched me walk into the kitchen, like she was waiting for me to crumple onto the floor and shatter into pieces.
“I’m fine,” I said. “It’s an emotional book. I’m just getting a glass of water.” I reached for the tequila.
She got up and followed me into the kitchen. “That’s not water.”
“And?”
“It’s ten a.m.”
“And?”
“You look like you’ve been crying for an hour straight . . . and you’re hitting the hard stuff at—and I repeat—ten a.m.”
“Cara, you have the most amazing powers of perception.” I looked at the bottle in one hand and the glass in the other, shrugged, set the glass down, and headed back to my room with the bottle only.
“I’m worried about you,” Cara called out as I walked away.
“I’m fine. Just gonna sit in here, read, and have myself a little mental health day.” I turned and smiled and then locked myself in my room.
“Mental health days don’t usually involve tequila at ten a.m.!” she yelled through the door.
“I’m fine!”
― Renee Carlino, quote from Swear on This Life
“You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth”
― Mark Twain, quote from Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
“Thank the gods you’re both still dressed and not entwined naked on the floor.… Now tell me, what exactly are we interrupting?” Hauk scowled at the comment and question as if replaying their exchange in his head while Darling burst into laughter. “Damn, Nyk … my wife’s not that pregnant.” Darling’s tone was filled with utter indignation. Maris scoffed. “Oh please, honey. Zarya’s so pregnant, one good sneeze could launch your son into this world in a matter of seconds.” Darling gave him a droll stare, but he knew it was true. Due any minute now, the poor girl was almost as huge as a shuttle craft. And crankier than a Gondarion were-beast. Moving”
― Sherrilyn Kenyon, quote from Born of Fury
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