Sarah Dessen, Just Listen

"There comes a time in every life when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your heart."

"There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you'd better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you'll never understand what it's saying."

"Silence is so freaking loud"

"Because this is what happens when you try to run from the past. It just doesn’t catch up, it overtakes … blotting out the future."

"Music is a total constant. That's why we have such a strong visceral connection to it, you know? Because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. No matter what else has changed in your or the world, that one song says the same, just like that moment."

"All I'd ever wanted was to forget. but even when I thought I had, pieces had kept emerging, like bits of wood floating up to the surface that only hint at the shipwreck below."

"So you're always honest,"I said."Aren't you?""No,"I told him. "I'm not.""Well, that's good to know, I guess.""I'm not saying I'm a liar,"I told him. He raised his eyebrows. "That's not how I meant it, anyways.""How'd you mean it, then?""I just...I don't always say what I feel.""Why not?""Because the truth sometimes hurts,"I said."Yeah,"he said. "So do lies, though."

"Don't think or judge, just listen."