I have an impulse to write all over the orange walls- I need an alphabet of endings ripped out of books, of hands pulled off of clocks, of cold stones, of shoes filled with nothing but wind.
Jandy NelsonRead
There once was a girl who found herself dead. She peered over the ledge of heaven and saw that back on earth her sister missed her too much, was way too sad, so she crossed some paths that would not have crossed, took some moments in her hand shook them up and spilled them like dice over the living world. It worked. The boy with the guitar collided with her sister. "There you go, Len," she whispered. "The rest is up to you.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses the profound connection between siblings and the lengths one would go to ensure the happiness of a loved one, even after death.
This quote illustrates the enduring bond between two sisters, emphasizing how love transcends even death. The girl, witnessing her sister's sorrow from heaven, takes action to influence her sister's life, demonstrating how deep emotional ties motivate individuals to intervene in meaningful ways. It highlights themes of sacrifice, love, and the serendipitous connections that can change lives.
Themes
SisterLoveConnectionSacrificeLife
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be shared at a memorial service to celebrate the bond between siblings.
More from Jandy Nelson
All quotes →Or maybe a person is just made up of a lot of peopleMaybe we’re accumulating these new selves all the time. Hauling them in as we make choices, good and bad, as we screw up, step up, lose our minds, find our minds, fall apart, fall in love, as we grieve, grow, retreat from the world, dive into the world, as we make things, as we break things.
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Grief is forever. It doesn't go away; it becomes part of you, step for step, breath for breath.
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... if you're someone who knows the worst thing can happen at any time, aren't you also someone who knows the best thing can happen at any time too?
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All her knowledge is gone now. Everything she ever learned, or heard, or saw. Her particular way of looking at Hamlet or daisies or thinking about love, all her private intricate thoughts, her inconsequential secret musings – they’re gone too. I heard this expression once: Each time someone dies, a library burns. I’m watching it burn right to the ground.
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It's such a colossal effort not to be haunted by what's lost, but to be enchanted by what was.
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