“I beg the reader not to go in search of messages. It is a term that I detest because it distresses me greatly, for it forces on me clothes that are not mine, which in fact belong to a human type that I distrust; the prophet, the soothsayer, the seer. I am none of these; I'm a normal man with a good memory who fell into a maelstrom and got out of it more by luck than by virtue, and who from that time on has preserved a certain curiosity about maelstroms large and small, metaphorical and actual.” MenHumansFactsCertainForceTermMemoriesVirtueMinesTypeReaderNormalMessagesClothesLuckCuriosityProphetDistressDistrustGood MemoriesDetestMetaphoricalSeersMaelstrom Author:Primo Levi
“We want to believe we are good, we are different, we are better, or we are superior. But this body of social-psychological research--and there are obviously many more experiments in addition to mine and Milgram's--shows that the majority of good, ordinary, normal people can be easily seduced, tempted, or initiated into behaving in ways that they say they never would. In 30 minutes we got them stepping across that line.” PeopleWayWantBelieveDifferentShowsBodySocialLinesMinutesMinesNormalResearchOrdinaryMajorityExperimentsSuperiorsPsychologicalTemptedPsychological Research Author:Philip Zimbardo
“I probably am a cranky writer, but I am actually a fairly nice, normal person. Since I'm a grouchy writer, of course I have friends whose books are doing way better than mine.” WayPersonsBookFunnyCoursesNiceMinesNormalCrankyGrouchy Author:Sarah Vowell
“I had pain in both knees my whole career. Not many athletes play pain-free. Mine was just more than normal.” PlayWholePainCareersMinesNormalAthleteKnees Author:Willie McCovey
“[Jesus Christ] used to have blue eyes but I painted them brown like mine and everybody's, to make him normal.” EyeUsedJesusChristMinesNormalJesus ChristBlueBrownBlue Eyes Author:NoViolet Bulawayo
“Coming from a background as unique as mine, the first challenge is being able to identify chaos as chaos. For the first half of my life, I interpreted chaos as normal. Today, I am aware that I have triggers: a default way of thinking that is often not relative to the immediate moment. Therefore, in the midst of chaos, I have learned to relinquish all my premature cognitive commitments and become present.” ThinkingWayFirstsMomentsTodayAbleChallengesHalfMinesNormalUniqueCommitmentChaosBackgroundsMidstRelativeI Have LearnedTriggersWay Of ThinkingDefaultCognitivePremature Author:Romany Malco
“A Different World was run by black women, Debbie Allen and Yvette Lee Bowser. Lead writer Susie Fales-Hill was a hero of mine, because she was 28 when she was running one of the top shows on television. Going to work every day and seeing black women in charge made that normal to me.” WorldMadeDifferentShowsRunningBlackSeeingTelevisionMinesHeroNormalHillsBlack WomenGoing To WorkDifferent Worlds Author:Gina Prince-Bythewood
“If no one had ever challenged religious authority, there’d be no democracy, no public schools, women’s rights, improvements to science and medicine, evolution of slavery and no laws against child abuse or spousal abuse. I was afraid to challenge my religious beliefs because that was the basis of creation—mine anyway. I was afraid to question the Bible or anything in it, and when I did, that’s when I became involved with PFLAG and realized that my son was a perfectly normal human being and there was nothing for God to heal because Bobby was perfect just the way he was.” IfsWayHumansChildrenSchoolLawBeliefChallengesReligiousHuman BeingsPerfectDemocracyRightsCreationMinesSonEvolutionInvolvedAuthorityNormalAbuseBasesSlaveryMedicineImprovementHealMy SonChild AbuseWomens RightsPublic SchoolReligious BeliefPerfectly Normal Author:Mary Griffith
“...I don't understand this gap you see between us, but can't you meet me somewhere in the middle?" "The middle of what?" "I don't know, the middle of tomorrow and forever, the middle of life and death, the middle of normal and paranormal. Where we've always been." I bit my lip, nodding against his forehead. "There's a place for us there, right?" "Always." He put his lips to mine, sealing our own little spot in the world. Together.” KnowsWorldLittlesTogetherBitsForeverMiddleMinesTomorrowNormalLipsSpotsParanormalLife And DeathGapsForeheadsNodding Author:Kiersten White
“[W]hen Ben was kissing me, the whole world retreated. I felt things I'd never felt before, in places I never knew were connected. But I was pretty sure that whatever was buzzing against my thigh was not normal. For one thing, it was ringing. Ben dragged his mouth away from mine and mumbled a curse that was a little shocking and kind of hot. "Ignore it," he said. That was easy for him to say when his cell phone was rounding third base. If anyone got a home run tonight, I didn't want it to be Verizon Wireless.” IfsWorldWantKindLittlesSaidWholeHomeRunningFeltEasyOne ThingMinesKissingNormalMouthsThirdsHotPhonesConnectedWhole WorldCellsCurseTonightShockingCell PhoneThighsHome RunWirelessHens Author:Rosemary Clement-Moore