Quotes from Undone

Cat Clarke ·  502 pages

Rating: (2.7K votes)


“The thought of going to sleep forever was delicious. I was so very tired.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“It’s amazing, the lies you can tell yourself. Even more amazing, the lies you can believe when you’re desperate enough.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“They had no idea that normal didn't exist for me anymore. Normal had been smashed on the rocks beneath the bridge.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“It's too late.
I chose life too late.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“To be perfectly honest, it scared me a little. You get so used to seeing the same thing in the mirror every day you stop thinking about what you look like.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone



“I know people think suicide is selfish, and maybe sometimes it really is. But what happened to Kai was beyond what anyone should have to cope with. I didn’t blame him, not really. It just broke my heart that I wasn’t enough to keep him here.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“I never lost the certainty that he was the perfect boy. The perfect boy for me anyway. I just tried not to think about it, because it made me ache inside.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“Everyone’s got secrets, Jem. It’s what makes people interesting.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“Has this version of me been lurking there all along, somewhere deep below the surface, biding its time, waiting for its chance to make an appearance?”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“Kai, are you sure you’re OK? You’re acting a little weird.’
He kissed me on the forehead. ‘Ah, Jemima! Weirdness is one of my many charms.’ Then he grabbed me in a bear hug and squeezed so hard I thought I might pass out.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone



“Every good story deserves a happy ending – it’s a basic rule of storytelling. The boy next door certainly shouldn’t die.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“Une enveloppe fermée promet toujours tant de choses... C'est comme si elle pouvait tout contenir... vraiment tout. Bon, tout, à partir du moment où ça tient dans une enveloppe, bien sûr. Mais la lettre elle-même pourrait tout contenir ! Une déclaration d'amour, des excuses, un "remet-toi vite !". Mes lettres entrent un peut dans ces trois catégories, je crois.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“Il me manque tellement. Ça ne devient pas plus facile. Peu importe ce que les gens disent, le temps ne guérit pas les blessures. Il vous montre simplement de nouvelles, et encore plus douloureuses manières de souffrir de l'absence de quelqu'un. Plus cette personne est partie depuis longtemps, pire c'est, parce qu'on commence à oublier son sourire, sa façon de pencher la tête lorsqu'elle réfléchissait, de vous regarder et de deviner ce à quoi vous pensiez. Bientôt, on se met même à avoir la sensation que les souvenir sont étés remplacés par des images photographiques - comme si la seule façon de se rappeler cette personne se trouvait désormais sur un cliché, et qu'elle devenait bidimensionnelle. Et comme ça déchiré le cœur rien que d'y penser, on évite de le faire.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


“It doesn't get any easier. No matter what they say, time doesn't heal the wound. Time just unravels and shows you new and more painful ways to miss someone. The longer they've been gone, the worse it is. You start to forget their smile or the way they tilted their head when they were confused or the way they looked at you and knew exactly what you were thinking. You can look at them in photos, but it's not even close to the real thing, and pretty soon you feel like your real memories are being replaced by the photo memories - like the only way you can picture them anymore is in one of those photographs. They become two-dimensional, and it rips your heart out whenever you think about it so you really try not to.”
― Cat Clarke, quote from Undone


About the author

Cat Clarke
Born place: Zambia
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“Soon, droves of children start to show up, keeping us rather busy. We start tallying up the number of Trolls, Batmans, Lego men, and princesses we see. The most popular costume? Batman and Superwoman with the fabrics and accessories varying from child to child. But my favorite so far is the girl who dressed as Little Debbie, but then again, I may be biased.

“I think she might be my new favorite,” Emma says as a little girl dressed as a nurse walks away.

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She levels with me. “This coming from the guy whose favorite child was dressed as Little Debbie.”

“Come on.” I lean back in my chair and motion to my head. “She had the rim of blue on her hat. That’s attention to detail.”

“And good fucking parenting,” Tucker chimes in, and we clink our beer bottles together.

Amelia chuckles next to me as Emma shakes her head. “Ridiculous. What about you, Amelia? What costume has been your favorite so far?”

“Hmm, it’s been a tough competition. There has been some real winning costumes and some absolute piss-poor ones.” She shakes her head. “Just because you put a scarf around your neck and call yourself Jack Frost doesn’t mean you dressed up.”

“Ugh, that costume was dumb.”

“It shouldn’t be referred to as a costume, but that’s beside the point.” I like how much Amelia is getting into this little pretend competition. She’s a far cry from the girl who first came home earlier. I love that having Tucker and Emma over has given me more time with Amelia, getting to know the woman she is today, but also managed to put that beautiful smile back on her face.

“So who takes the cake for you?” I ask, nudging her leg with mine.

Smiling up at me, she says, “Hands down it’s the little boy who dressed as Dwight Schrute from The Office. I think I giggled for five minutes straight after he left. That costume was spot on.”

“Oh shit, you’re right,” I reply as Emma and Tucker agree with me. “He even had the watch calculator.”

“And the small nose Dwight always complains about.” Emma chuckles. “Yeah, he has to be the winner.”

“Now, now, now, let’s not get too hasty. Little Debbie is still in the running,” Tucker points out.

Amelia leans forward, seeming incredibly comfortable, and says, “There is no way Little Debbie beats Dwight. Sorry, dude.”

The shocked look on Tucker’s face is comical. He’s just been put in his place and the old Amelia has returned.

I fucking love it.”
― Meghan Quinn, quote from The Other Brother


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