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The Dictionary of Lost Words

Book by Pip Williams · 4 quotes · Loss, Feminism, Grief

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The Dictionary of Lost Words Quotes

“I am beginning to feel the English language is burdened by this war, Es. Everyone I meet has a new word for toilet paper, and I have not heard one that doesn’t accurately convey its origin or the experience of using it. Yet only a handful of words exist to convey a thousand horrors.”

War Loss Grief Words Meaning

Book:The Dictionary of Lost Words

Source: The Dictionary of Lost Words

“LOSS 'Sorry for your loss, they say. And I want to know what they mean, because it's not just my boys I've lost. I've lost my motherhood, my chance to be a grandmother. I've lost the easy conversation of neighbours and the comfort of family in my old age. Every day I wake to some new loss that I hadn't thought of before, and I know that soon it will be my mind.' Vivienne Blackman, 1915”

Book:The Dictionary of Lost Words

Source: The Dictionary of Lost Words

“Was I better? Before Shropshire I'd felt broken, as though I would fall should the scaffold of my work be removed. I didn't feel that now, but there was a fine crack through the middle of me, and I suspected it might never mend. I remembered Lizzie apologising to Mrs Lloyd the first time she stayed to chat, for the chip in the cup. 'A chip doesn't stop it from holding tea,' Mrs Lloyd had said.”

Loss Grief Healing

Book:The Dictionary of Lost Words

Source: The Dictionary of Lost Words

“The slip was writhing. I reached in to rescue it, even as the brown paper charred and the letters written on it turned to shadows. I thought I might hold it like an oak leaf, faded and winter-crisp, but when I wrapped my fingers around the word, it shattered.”

Inspiration Spiritual Loss Fleeting Fragility Precious Words Have Power

Book:The Dictionary of Lost Words

Source: The Dictionary of Lost Words