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21 " The parents are in charge of all the stuff like technology in the house and time on screens and hours on social media, but then their computer goes wrong and they’re like a baby, going, “What happened to my document?” “I can’t get Facebook.” “How do I load a picture? Double-click what? What does that mean?” And we have to sort it out for them. "
― Sophie Kinsella , Finding Audrey
22 " But I'm sick of this bloody jagged graph. You know, two steps up, one step down. It's so painful. It's so slow. It's like this endless game of snakes and ladders." And Mum just looked at me as if she wanted to laugh or maybe cry, and said, "But Audrey, that's what life is. We're all on a jagged graph. I know I am. Up a bit, down a bit. That's life. "
23 " I feel like I’ve been on this massive long, lonely journey, and none of my friends could ever understand it, even Natalie. I think I kind of hated them for that. "
24 " Although, as Leonardo da Vinci said: “Where there is shouting, there is no true knowledge, "
25 " don’t look back once, the entire time I’m talking to her. But I can feel his eyes on me all the time. Like sunshine. "
26 " You get self-obsessed when you're ill. You can't see anything around you. "
27 " Sweetheart, I know you think it'll be a cathartic experience and you'll say your piece and everyone will come away the wiser,' says Dad. 'But in real life that doesn't happen. I've confronted enough assholes in my time. They never realize they're assholes. Not once. Whatever you say. "
28 " For God’s sake. In movies, they fix the note to a dog’s collar and it trots off obediently, no nonsense. "
29 " You keep saying 'I'm fine' to people when you're not fine. You think you should be fine. You keep saying to yourself: 'Why aren't I fine? "
30 " And then Jo met Professor Bhaer, so we had to watch that bit. And then Beth died. So I guess the March sisters were on their own jagged graph too. "
31 " It was about how you have to be strong to break free from abuse and not constantly measure yourself against toxic people but stand strong and distinct like a healthy tree. Not some stunted, falling-over, co-dependent victim tree. Or whatever. "
32 " She's not talking to me. She's talking to the Imaginary Daily Mail Judge, who constantly watches her life and gives it marks out of ten. "
33 " When we suffer prolonged anxiety, we have a tendency to become self-obsessed...You believe the whole world is thinking about you constantly. You believe the world is judging you and talking about you...The more you engage with the outside world, the more you'll be able to turn down the volume on those worries. You'll see that they're unfounded. You'll see that the world is a very busy and varied place and most people have the attention span of a gnat. They've already forgotten what happened. They don't think about it. "
34 " When he was EIGHT. Anne, do you know what teenage parties are like? What if they knife each other and have sex on the trampoline? "
35 " Except that stopping mid-sentence is the worst thing people can do. It's, like, totally passive aggressive, because you can't take issue with anything they've said. You have to take issue with what you think they were going to say. "
36 " Linus might come over. He might not. Either way is fine. Either way, his decision is about himself, not about you. You are not responsible for his feelings. "
37 " So do I, you. "
38 " No!” Linus sounds really shocked. Shocked, embarrassed, discomfited. Kind of mortified. Like he can’t believe I would say that. (I’m getting all this from one syllable, you understand.) "
39 " My aunt grows special rhubarb in dark sheds. They keep it dark and warm all winter and harvest it by candlelight and it’s the best stuff. She sells it for a fortune, btw. "
40 " See how I stopped mid-sentence? I can do it too. When I don't necessarily want to reveal the exact thought I'm having. "