The Book of Lost and Found

In many ways my life has been rather like a record of the lost and found. Perhaps all lives are like that.

It was then I thought of Corsica, the place we had discovered together. I craved the wind, the sun and salt, the simplicity of the island.

War happens to people, one by one.’ That’s exactly it, you see. Until it happens to you, you have no way of understanding it, let alone imagining it. Until then, it is simply a monster under the bed.

the most precious memories can be damaged with too much handling, as with all delicate objects.

But when you appeared at the top of those steps, I thought I was seeing a ghost. It nearly brought me to my knees. You see, she was the love of my life.

The most important thing is to continue to do the thing you want to, to keep battling on. That, in my opinion, is the main part of the struggle. Most give up when it seems too difficult.

I think it often happens like this. You wait, and hope, until eventually the hoping seems in vain and the thing you wish for begins to seem impossible. You try to forget, to move on. And sometimes, once you have gone through this painful process,

Sophie shakes her head. “I disagree. I think we carry all of our past selves with us, in tight layers. Somewhere within you is that girl, however many other, new selves you may have grown in the years since. She’s what holds you together, at the very center.

Martha Gellhorn said: ‘War happens to people, one by one.’ That’s exactly it, you see. Until it happens to you, you have no way of understanding it, let alone imagining it. Until then, it is simply a monster under the bed.

I think we carry all of our past selves with us, in tight layers. Somewhere within you is that girl, however many other, new selves you may have grown in the years since. She’s what holds you together, at the very center.

For me, those works were the artistic equivalent of a teenage diary: full of overblown sentiment and melodrama.

You must not be afraid of ridicule; indeed, you may want to court it.

I think we carry all of our past selves with us

Avrebbe portato nel corpo e nell'anima i segni del tempo, forse non sarei nemmeno riuscito a vedere in lei la donna che avevo amato. E quel pensiero mi travolse

Perché finché la guerra è altrove, non riesci a prenderla sul serio. Come ha detto Martha Gellhorn "La guerra è un fatto personale". È proprio così: finché non capita a te, non riesci a capirla, tanto meno a immaginarla. Finché non entra nella tua vita è irreale

Per ironia della sorte, era stato il pensiero di lei a tenermi in vita fino a quel momento. Grazie a quel pensiero non avevo perso la ragione. Credevo in lei, nel futuro che avremmo vissuto insieme, così come altri credono in Dio

Era stata la prima a vedere il mio lavoro, sa? E la prima a credere in me, a considerarmi un artista, non un ragazzo con un sogno