#coming-of-age

"I’ve grown up defined by this desperate, undeniable, ‘can’t breathe’ kind of space inside of myself and I’m afraid that the diagnosis is fatal."

"I just want your voice aimed at me again. I want to absorb the direction of your eyes…"

"I feel a resurgence of my 6-year-old self… that little warrior, goddess of a girl reminding me of who I was when I was little, before the world got its hands on me."

"Vane’s lips tightened to suppress a smile. “Why so hostile, love?”“You whacked me on the head with a ball!”“You deserved it."

"Everything hurts right now and nothing is helping because as the pain is getting worse — so is the love."

"I can do this… I can start over. I can save my own life and I’m never going to be alone as long as I have stars to wish on and people to still love."

"Vane grabbed me. “DuLac, let’s chat.”Chat. British-speak for “Stand still while I yell at you."

"I caught his hand. “What do you want me to do?”Leaning down, he kissed the pulse beating on my neck just above the damaged skin. “Tomorrow, I need you to die."

"I want to be the best version of myself for anyone who is going to someday walk into my life and need someone to love them beyond reason."

"I’m going to follow this invisible red thread until I find myself again… until I finally figure out… who I’m meant to be."

"I had not expected the gentle, tentative surge of gratitude I began to feel...for St. Paul's School, the spring, and the early morning. I needed the morning light and the warbling birds. I needed to find a way to live in this place for a moment and get the good of it. I had tried to hold myself apart, and the aloneness proved more terrible than what I had tried to escape."

"Where should I go?"-Alice. "That depends on where you want to end up."- The Cheshire Cat."

"Something, somewhere, knows what’s best for me and promises to keep sending me people and experiences to light my way as long as I live in gratitude and keep paying attention to the signs."

"Do you think we can be friends?” I asked.He stared up at the ceiling. “Probably not, but we can pretend."

"Let this time in your life cut you open and drain all of the things that are holding you back. I’m going to help you forgive the things that you won’t let yourself forget."

"The one thing I do remember is that as I retraced my steps through all the familiar streets of my life, Inow felt completely lost."

"Your personal truth is your gift to the world."

"I know that your soul is on life support and that you feel lost and like you’re completely spinning out of control, but you’re finding yourself — here, tonight… even in this darkness."

"I fantasize the night sky to be like a cosmic blue print of my life as I close my eyes and unbutton my heart…. just in case anyone up there is listening."

"If ever I was running, it was towards you."