“See, this is why it's hard to be real with you. You never really want anything. You don't know what it's like to feel like you're supposed to be having a certain kind of life and you're just not doing it.” LifeDesireLivingGoalsBeing RealDissatisfactionHopesWanting Book:The Wilderness Source: The Wilderness
“What am I doing with my life? In the American sense, the bootstrapping capitalist one, her life as-is seemed a good answer. She was a relatively successful business owner, she employed young people, she brought good, wholesome food to the hood. During the pandemic, she had managed to keep her entire full-time staff on payroll, even through the early months when the restaurant was closed and only she and a skeleton crew fulfilled delivery orders. Sure. And yet. So many, too many people had nothing. What was the point of working hard, having something, when one had to live with the knowledge of so much want?” WantLifePhilosophyAmericaSuccessLivingCapitalismNeedHaves And Have Nots Book:The Wilderness Source: The Wilderness
“Build up her own life--how? How to build a life with no one, rooted to nothing but a house full of an old man's things? Desiree began devoting weekday mornings to scouring the internet for jobs. She learned what she had no interest in--hospitality, teaching, medicine--but what she might apply herself to remained as much a mystery as before Nolan died.” LifeJobsWorkCareersLivingWorkingCallingsOccupationsJob Searching Book:The Wilderness Source: The Wilderness
“How'd everything get small?" "What do you mean?" If Desiree was annoyed by her, her voice didn't betray it. "I wanted to be a bigger person than I am, you know? Like a better person, more part of the world, but somehow I ended up with this small suburban life.” LifeLivingSmallnessExpansivenessBeing Better Author:Angela Flournoy
“I just been thinking about that word, you know. Verbatim. Verbatim. Like you are what you say you are verbatim, right? It's a deep-ass word." She nodded, no idea whatsoever what he meant. "And it's not just what you say. What you do verbatim is who you are too, right?” LifeLanguageLivingWordsBeing True To YourselfVerbatimBeing True To Oneself Book:The Wilderness Source: The Wilderness
“There is no over the hill, just a series of small hillocks, plotted out before me, each one I pray not to die climbing.” LifePoetryChallengesPoemLivingObstaclesDifficulties Book:The Wilderness Source: The Wilderness
“Her impulse to want less was born of her own early disappointments, sure, but life would inevitably disappoint everyone, she thought. Better to figure out what exactly was worth getting your arms around and hold tight to that, and anything else good that fell into your lap could be a happy bonus.” LifeHappinessLivingGood ThingsContentmentDisappointments Book:The Wilderness Source: The Wilderness