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Quote by Steve Almond

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My Life in Heavy Metal: Stories

This book offers an intimate look into the life and experiences of individuals deeply involved in the heavy metal music genre, exploring the culture, the music, and the personal stories that define this subculture. more

Author

Steve Almond
Steve Almond

Steve Almond is an American writer known for his distinctive writing style and profound insights into social issues. His works span novels, essays, and poetry, often focusing on themes of family, identity, and moral dilemmas. more

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“Independence is the recognition of the fact that yours is the responsibility of judgment and nothing can help you escape it—that no substitute can do your thinking—that the vilest form of self-abasement and self-destruction is the subordination of your mind to the mind of another, the acceptance of an authority over your brain, the acceptance of his assertions as facts, his say-so as truth, his edicts as middle-man between your consciousness and your existence.”

“The tension inside the car grew the longer we drove. I wanted him so badly I could barely think or see. For someone who’d gone almost her entire life without sex, the last two weeks shouldn’t have been a problem, but oh, they were. I ached for him. Just holding his hand made my skin tingle with anticipation. When we finally got off the interstate, Romeo turned abruptly onto some empty back road with trees on each side. “Where are you going?” I asked as he pulled over onto the side of the road and let the car idle. “I can’t take it anymore, Rim.” He reached for me, practically lifting me out of the seat and pulling me across the center toward him. I was all too willing as I climbed into his lap to straddle him. He reached up into the messy bun on my head and pulled out the hair tie. The heavy mess that was my hair tumbled down over my shoulders and back as he carefully removed my glasses before burying his hands in and pulling me close. The kiss was all-consuming. It wasn’t like at the airport where he kept his desire in check. Instead, it surged out around me, and I rocked into his already rigid length and moaned low in my throat.”

“Gratitude is the best food and fuel to start anything that you need to do - it will nourish and sustain you...and others too. Hankering will leave you hungry - or with with heart, head or belly ache - and tends to have or leave a sour or bitter taste too.”

“The Ache That Would Not Leave Behind the hum and routine of daily living, there lay a persistent and wild longing for something she could not easily put into words. It felt like impulsive adventures and watching the sun rise over unfamiliar mountains, or coffee in a street café, set to the background music of a foreign language. It was the smell of the ocean, with dizzying seagulls whirling in a cobalt sky; exotic foods and strange faces, in a city where no one knew her name. She wanted secrets whispered at midnight, and road trips without a map, but most of all, she ached for someone who desired to explore the mysteries that lay sleeping within her. The truly heartbreaking part was that she could feel the remaining days of her life falling away, like leaves from an autumn tree, but still this mysterious person who held the key to unlock her secrets did not arrive; they were missing, and she knew not where to find them.”

“Your VISION and your self-willingness is the MOST powerful elements to conquer your goal”

“What if the heart, for its own unfathomable reasons, leads one willfully and in a cloud of unspeakable radiance away from health, domesticity, civic responsibility and strong social connections and all the blandly-held common virtues and instead straight toward a beautiful flare of ruin, self-immolation, disaster?…If your deepest self is singing and coaxing you straight toward the bonfire, is it better to turn away? Stop your ears with wax? Ignore all the perverse glory your heart is screaming at you? Set yourself on the course that will lead you dutifully towards the norm, reasonable hours and regular medical check-ups, stable relationships and steady career advancement the New York Times and brunch on Sunday, all with the promise of being somehow a better person? Or…is it better to throw yourself head first and laughing into the holy rage calling your name?”