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1 " Dogs and books, two excellent defenses against solitude and despair. "
― Margarita Montimore , Oona Out of Order
2 " being able to buy anything put a spotlight on the things that couldn’t be bought (lost friendship, lost love, lost time) "
3 " All good things end, always. The trick is to enjoy them while they last. "
4 " There would be bad days, there always would. But she'd collect these good days, each one illuminated, and string them together until they glowed brightly in her memory like Christmas lights in a mirrored room. "
5 " Time heals all. But what if time itself is the disease? "
6 " Make your life more about letting in the good things than preventing the bad things. "
7 " But there was a freedom in making mistakes, feeling broken, falling into the void, and then climbing out. A freedom in letting go, setting aside, moving on. "
8 " Stop micromanaging your life and just live it; joy and meaning will follow. Find the happy medium between being daring and responsible. Cultivate that balance. Do your best. Be good to yourself, even when—especially when—life isn’t being good to you. "
9 " It felt as if my whole life had been shaped by the things people wouldn't say. "
10 " Oona stopped trusting the mirror years ago. After all it told only a sliver of the story. The mirror exposed time’s passage, yes, but eclipsed her heart’s true mileage. Each year the body was hers but her mind was out of sync with her reflection. "
11 " Is this what it means to get older, replaying happy memories because the best times are behind you? "
12 " Hiraeth: homesickness for something that never was and never could be. "
13 " Oona was still learning, everytime she leaped no matter the year someone important would be absent from life. Every year bittersweet. But it would be okay. There would be bad days, there always would. But she'd collect these good days, each one illuminated, and string them together until they glowed brightly in her memory "
14 " That's the amazing thing about you. How sneaky your wisdom and how quiet your sacrifices. "
15 " It was a compliment like a piece of candy dusted with arsenic. "
16 " Anger is a poison and forgiveness is the antidote. "
17 " Whichever the years flow it was impossible to outmaneuver their passage. Even chronology doesn't guarantee security. All good things ended. Always. The trick was to enjoy them when they lasted. "
18 " When I was growing up, Mama used to say what you dislike in other people is really what you dislike in yourself. "
19 " How terrible it must be when the source of your pain is your own child. "
20 " Oona stopped trusting the mirror years ago. After all it told only a sliver of the story. The mirror exposed time’s passage, yes, but eclipsed her heart’s true mileage. "