Home > Author > Susie Orman Schnall
1 " Chance encounters - seeming coincidences of place and time - were fickle. Sometimes such encounters embodied a chemistry and mind of their own, resulting in relationships the were momentous. And sometimes those encounters had as much energy as a speck of inconsequential dust, meant to be overlooked and immediately forgotten. "
― Susie Orman Schnall , We Came Here to Shine
2 " But it was time for Monday morning. The great arbiter of fresh starts and calendars stretching for days on end. Office workers in Park Avenue corner offices and pattern makers in Garment District walk-ups were drunk with the possibility of a whole week set before them like a new school year to a class full of wide-eyed kindergarteners. The idea that there was so much time to make things happen. "
― Susie Orman Schnall , The Subway Girls
3 " How lucky she was to have a best friend like Jojo. A girl who relied on truth as much as humor, realizing that the former was essential and the latter was what made life bearable. "
4 " Very few things in life unfold the way we thought they would. In fact, you should be suspect when they do. Who cares when the best things in life happen? Don’t you see? You’re getting everything you wanted. The packaging is a little unexpected and not ideal, but the stuff inside, the stuff that really counts, is just right. "
5 " But sometimes life presents opportunities at inopportune times. And sometimes you have to ignore all the reasons to say no even if there are a lot of them, and go with the reasons to say yes. "
6 " Time has a really incredible way of dulling feelings that you think will be sharp for your entire life. One day you wake up, and sometimes it takes something like this for that to happen, but you realize that the point isn't so pointy. And the edge isn't so jagged. And you find in your heart a way to accept people for who they are, because it's not always entirely their fault. "
7 " But it makes the experience of the problem easier. When I finally changed my perspective and accepted that those problems too shall pass, and life will go on, it was radically liberating. Hard times will always hurt, I’m not saying that. But changing the picture frame around those hard times changes the way you see them. "
8 " Why wouldn’t you give it a go, Charlotte? Life is all about collecting experiences, and this seems like a pretty exciting one. I’d do it in a second if someone ever gave me the chance. "
9 " I’ve always found in my life that answers become clear at unexpected times. You have to trust that they will and then keep your eyes wide-open for the signs. Sometimes they will be subtle, but they’ll always present themselves. And you have to be brave enough to take a risk even if it seems like there are a lot of reasons not to. "
10 " Charlotte had anticipated that when she got her first job, she’d feel desired in a way no mother or lover ever could make her feel. She had little to no experience feeling desired by either a mother or a lover, so the disappointment in having to wait even longer felt almost violent. An assault against everything she had longed for. A barricade blocking her emergence from childhood to adulthood. "
11 " The renewed sense of purpose energized Olivia, and she was thankful for the adrenaline rush. It was her resting state. Olivia only felt like herself, the self that was authentic, when the pressure was turned up all the way to the point that would make most people explode. "
12 " When Olivia imagined her life with all those predictable men, she couldn’t see past the stereotypical gender-roled, routine-sex, so-so married life she knew they’d have together. "
13 " When I meet women in their eighties and nineties, it’s easy to forget that they were living these vibrant lives when they were younger. It’s awful, but I admit that I underestimate older women. I don’t give them the credit they’re due. I mean, I realize they paved the way for us and all, but still, not enough credit. We could probably learn so much from them. "
14 " You just assume that the times they lived in were so different that they couldn’t possibly know what it’s like for us. But you know what, from reading those posters, and all the other articles, those women were going through the same shit we are. All the conflicts with work and personal lives – that is nothing new. "
15 " Thank you so much. That was so nice of you,” Olivia said, suddenly feeling both uncomfortable for intruding on some other family and close to tears with yearning, realizing how much she was missing in her life by not having dinners like this more often. Or ever. "
16 " All that remained were memories that clouded her thoughts like black smoke from a fire, aches buried so deeply within Olivia’s soul that it felt like they would never go away. "
17 " Her mother had always taught her to keep her expectations in check. That way she’d never be disappointed. Yes, Mother dear, Charlotte thought, but that way you can never dream. "
18 " The irony that a woman’s gender could be both a liability and an asset in business was not lost on her. "
19 " Charlotte was aware she was yelling, aware she was escalating the situation perhaps a little unnecessarily, but she didn’t care. This felt marvelous. To say what she meant and not care a lick about what would happen next. "
20 " But she also felt that when you’d found what you were looking for, you couldn’t always be too choosy about where you’d found it. "
