β
Perhaps itβs just easier to smile and pretend everything is fine, rather than admit my heartβs a little swollen from losing something that wasnβt even mine.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
The tragedy of what could have been is nearly as crippling as what once was but can never be again.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Is that why you play the music so loud? A beat to drown out the thoughts, sound so high you cannot think, lyrics so close to home you donβt even blink.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Be kind to yourself, the way you would be to someone you love.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
But the world is exhausted, and the only wealth we have left is love.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
If you were a novel, youβd be an adventure of sadness and happiness and love lost in between.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Life is unpredictable, and Iβd rather play every card as honestly as I can than have a deck full of regrets and what-ifs.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
You spend your whole life convincing yourself you are a chapter worth following, and then someone comes along and doesn't want to read the ending, and suddenly the whole story falls apart
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Of all the tragedies on this earth, there is none more tragic than a person who cannot see their worth.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
I am no more the person that you left than you are the person I miss.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
I loved what we had too. The only difference was that I saw it as forever and you saw it as just for now.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Before we begin, Iβd like to share a story. Once upon a time there was a jellyfish. Weβll call it You. You became lost sometimes You could be a little unsure You tried very hard But sometimes it didnβt feel like enough. I hate to spoil the ending But You is fine You is still here You is going to make it.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
I have been a little off balance since the day I met you. This is because I had never known what it is like to be perfectly aligned.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
I understand why people take flight from bridges, I understand why a girl holds a blade to her wrist, I understand why a grown man cries counting all his lists. What I wish for the world to understand is that in these fragile moments, patience and love are needed most.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
You are a battlefield. Never will there be a greater war than the one you hold with yourself.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
You were always miles away. Maybe you were just always meant to be miles away. The distance saw us together in a dream and thought we were better off without all the mess.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
When you take a lover who uncovers all your flaws, listens to the very essence of who you are and embraces you rather than judges you, hold on to this love for a lifetime, as you will never find a love quite as pure.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
I still feel the aches you left behind, even after all the time you have been gone. This heart of mine has been broken before, but this emptiness has never left me quite as sore.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Then I am reminded that life will continue on, regardless of whether I choose to board the train or stay on the platform.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
she's the type of girl
that has a place in her heart
for all the lonely people to go
with their forgotten footprints
in the snow
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Sometimes sadness does not have a source. There is no immediate solution, no escape plan from its clutches. Instead, you learn to coincide, as though sadness is an old friend who needs a gentle nudge in the right direction.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Itβs exhausting to be locked in your head with all these thoughts that tie you down. Just for one moment, try with all your might to let go of all the things that stop you from being you.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
We should kiss. Not because you passed my way by chance but because you stopped and I havenβt been the same since.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
I tried to stop loving you
so I built walls around my heart
and found other names
to whisper in the night.
But you carved yourself into my veins
whether you meant to or not.
And sometimes I wonder
if you remember the way we looked at each other
or maybe you just forgot.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
They say donβt fall in love with writers because their poems are messy and their letters are empty words dressed up to look pretty. But I say fall in love with me because underneath the mess and in between the lines is a heart too full of love that would follow you to any city.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Donβt date broken girls, my mother said. βBut they deserve to be loved too.β And so I loved a broken girl more than anything; I just didnβt realize she would break me too.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
I forgave you for myself. Not for you. You were too selfish for me. So when you broke my heart, I decided to be selfish too. Selfish in the way I stopped Making everything about you.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
I keep wondering
how sad do I have to be
for someone to stop insisting
everything is going to be fine?
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
People should fall in love more. Fall in love with the way your coffee swirls as soon as you pour the milk in. Fall in love with the look your dog gives you when you wake up. Fall in love with the rare moment when your cat doesnβt ignore you. Fall in love with the person who tells you to have a good day. Fall in love with the waiter who gives you extra chili fries. Fall in love with sweaters in winter and cold lemonade in summer. Fall in love with the moment your head hits the pillow. Fall in love with talking to someone until 4 a.m. Fall in love with the days you can hit the snooze button over and over again. Fall in love when a lover stares at you for five hours. Fall in love with the stars when they look at you. Fall in love with the sound of someone breathing. Fall in love with the bus if itβs on time or the train if it comes early. Fall in love with everything possible.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
I hope you find someone who reminds you that you deserve the love you give.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
When the stars ask you what it is you want,
why do you speak of a love that tears you apart?
Why do you crave a love that will break your heart?
Your soul is never beyond repair, so stay humble and be kind
and eventually a love will come along
and remind you of why you are alive.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
You are a lonely sailboat, afraid of drowning where no one will see.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
If I had any say and my life to do again, Iβd have moved us closer.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
One day you are going to look at someone and say,
"I survived."
There is great satisfaction in that. Even more if the person staring back comes from your mirror.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Youβve become so damaged That when someone Wants to give you What you deserve You have no idea How to respond
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Who made you feel Like your scars Arenβt beautiful And your baggage Isnβt worth carrying? Who made you feel Like you donβt Deserve everything And you arenβt Someone worth keeping?
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
But if I were to take a palette all my colours would be of you
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
How does loneliness still exist with all these souls in the world?
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
You just have to surround yourself with people who have the same heart as you.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
One day you are ordering coffee every morning and the next you can't even order coffee without thinking about ordering theirs too.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
When did you become so tired of us?
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
She is scared to love again, because people change their minds. She is scared to love again, because people leave with no answers, and she is sick of thinking it's because of her.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (I Hope You Stay)
β
Just tell me softly that you love me, because when you said my name, I swear my heart was never the same.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Life is too short for games unless itβs a game of cards.
Donβt text back right away; if you like them, pretend you donβt; and donβt you dare say I love you first. Well screw all that.
I will text you back in three seconds; I will tell you that I like you; and if I love you, Iβll tell you every chance I get.
Life is unpredictable, and Iβd rather play every card as honestly as I can than have a deck full of regrets and what-ifs.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
There are days where triggers are around every corner, lurking in shadows where darkness spills heavy breaths and tight chests. Anxiety is a devastating thing. No matter how many times you are told to βbreathe,β it feels as though the air has all but thinned, and despite every logical reason to remain calm, you feel like a ship without its sails in the middle of a raging storm.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
You wonβt remember, they say, when someone drifts away. One minute you are talking about lifeβs greatest adventures and listening to mixtapes on Monday afternoons, and the next their presence is replaced with silence: a fragile nonexistence with nothing else to lose. But I will always remember our drift. It took up all this space, like a planet with many moons. It was the year you forgot my birthday.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
You will always be my destination, my home, my whole heart.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Healing the Heart (Pillow Thoughts, #2))
β
They didnβt warn me that heartache doesnβt always have someone to blame. Sometimes itβs no oneβs fault (itβs probably all mine).
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
But life is not about half doing. You cannot half love or half accept or half live. It's about giving everything you have. When you are old and worn, do you really want to look back and say you gave the bare minimum? You owe yourself more than that.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
I know life isn't always about bright colors and fireworks. Sometimes the colors aren't always clear, and our days get so hard they hurt. But settle down with me, hold my hand, let me kiss you. All I want is to know you more.
Better than anyone else has before.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Healing the Heart (Pillow Thoughts, #2))
β
... [T]he bravest people arenβt the ones that pretend theyβre fine when theyβre not. Itβs the ones that admit they arenβt fine but carry on anyway.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Keeping Long Island)
β
She is tired of the promises that seem empty. Of believing magic may fix her broken heart.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (I Hope You Stay)
β
They say transitions happen with big events. Like a wedding, your birthday, or your gradation. But maybe it's really in the smaller moments, like when you look at yourself in the mirror and realize how far you've come or how far you still have to go.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Just for one moment, try with all your might to let go of all the things that stop you from being you.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Does art make sense to you? You are so brave an quiet; I think you would understand.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Iβm sorry for all the days weβve spent separately Iβm sorry for all the time we cannot make up Iβm sorry for being caught up in all your lonely I just wanted a place to stay
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
But I am so deeply lost in my own soul, how can I expect anyone else to understand me?
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
No matter where my life takes me or yours takes you, I will love you whether there are a thousand miles between us or none at all.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Is that why you play music so loud? A beat to drown out the thoughts, sound so high you cannot think, lyrics so close to home you don't even blink.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
I think if you let me, Iβd build an observatory just to show you that all the stars in the universe will never shine as brightly as you.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
I swore I would never be happy again the day you said, βLetβs just be friends.β But the world goes on even when lovers go their separate ways. So I will carry on in the hopes Iβll find another lover someday.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Your feelings are valid and real. Do not let anybody denounce them just because they do not feel the same way. These feelings do not make you weak, or clingy, or overly emotional. They make you strong, brave, and beautiful. You are not merely made of stardust; you are the comet streaking through the sky on the way to do good and bright things.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
People grow apart. Distance doesnβt always mean miles. Sometimes it means two friends going separate ways. The person you poured your heart out to, traveled through new cities with, called at three in the morning just to get ice cream, suddenly becomes someone who canβt even text you back. So, you start to wonder what happened and where it all went wrong. How can this person who was once your lifeline now be a stranger who holds all your memories? But people change and become caught up in their own lives. They may not even realize they are doing it. Sometimes friends disappear and we donβt know why. But you donβt deserve to be ignored. The things you have to say are important; you should never allow someone to make you feel as though they arenβt. You should never tolerate someone who canβt acknowledge the news you have to share. You donβt need this in your life. Let go of people who donβt make you happy.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts II: Healing the Heart)
β
It's the last day of the year
and I still lose myself in good books
and warm tea,
those quiet nights
and writing your name
on my windshield.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
It's hard not to fall in love with someone who looks at you one day and says, "Thank you for letting me be myself.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (I Hope You Stay)
β
All my life I have been stumbling through moments, desperate to reach the next, without ever really finishing the moment I was currently in.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Watering the Soul)
β
You shouldn't lose sleep over somebody any more than they should lose sleep over you. But you do, we all do.
And we call this love.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Healing the Heart (Pillow Thoughts, #2))
β
The aches in my arms still surprise me, even years after letting you go.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
There are many things you should care about
Like sick animals, dying trees, and saving the bees.
What others think of you
is not one of these things.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Mending the Mind (Pillow Thoughts, #3))
β
The tragedy of what could have been is nearly as crippling as what once was but can never be again
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
You are allowed to outgrow someone. If the river parts ways, you can forge your own path to the sea.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (The Road Between)
β
Often I wonder what it may take for someoneβs heart to grow cold and I think perhaps the reason is because their heart was left out in the rain. And so on rainy days I struggle because I still donβt know how to convince you that I will be outside in the storm with an umbrella just big enough to cover your heart.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
You canβt choose which parts of her you love. Even in all the ugly moments, she should still be the woman you want to spend the rest of your life with. People are not perfect, they have flaws. You donβt get to choose which ones to leave out. Thatβs not honest love.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts II: Healing the Heart)
β
The past does not define you. There will be people who once knew you intimately, but they donβt know you now. They may remember a chapter that once spoke to them, but they donβt get to know the chapters that are coming. You get to write those.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Mending the Mind (Pillow Thoughts, #3))
β
I keep wondering
how sad do I have to be
for someone to stop insisting
everything is going to be fine?
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
By existing you are planting softness in soil that has turned hard. There is no need to surrender your existence. You are doing just fine by even existing at all.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Some moments have to happen so they may shape you, teach you, undo you, and remake you.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts IV: Stitching the Soul)
β
There is beauty in the chaos of living
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Mending the Mind (Pillow Thoughts, #3))
β
You never need to get an apology to someone who didn't want your heart as much as your body.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (I Hope You Stay)
β
They don't teach you that some people will turn on you even after you have loved them with all the atoms in your body
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
If you are in love and the love is returned, be grateful. Because if you take love for granted, it will be overturned.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
You are the freckle on my nose and I am the freckle on my back. We share the same space but we will never be together.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Breathe in, breathe out slowly and count to ten. There is no rulebook on how to cope when these things end. You may not feel it now, but things will get better, even if life doesn't tell you when.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Itβs difficult to be the best version of yourself all the time. But perhaps life isnβt about that. You donβt have to always be in a good mood; you donβt have to always be sociable or productive. Itβs about how much you try, even when it feels like life keeps flipping upside down.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Mending the Mind (Pillow Thoughts, #3))
β
People should fall in love more. Fall in love with the way your coffee swirls as soon as you pour the milk in. Fall in love with the look your dog gives you when you wake up... Fall in love with the person who tells you to have a good day... Fall in love with sweaters in winter and cold lemonade in summer. Fall in love with the moment your head hits the pillow. Fall in love with talking to someone until 4 a.m... Fall in love with the stars when they look at you. Fall in love with the sound of someone breathing... Fall in love with everything possible.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
But what else am I supposed to do when your hair is soft and your eyes are blue? And my heart turns over at the sound of your name only you smile at me the way friends usually do. I am more of a mess than a rainy day because you have no idea I feel this way.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Don't waste your time with people who bring you down. Bitterness is a disease that gets the better of most people, but that doesn't mean you need to tolerate it. You have flaws just like anybody else. Embrance them, live for them. There is only one you. Forgiveness is happiness. They walk hand in hand. You dpn't have to forgive everyone in your life. But you do have to forgive yourself.
Every time.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Healing the Heart (Pillow Thoughts, #2))
β
Change is not going to sit you down and ask if you are ready. Change is not going to knock on your door and hand you notice. Change is not going to hug you in the middle of the night and tell you it can wait. Change does not wait. Change doesnβt care if you arenβt ready. It will happen anyway. Change is not always the friend you may want, but it will always know when you need it.
Itβs like batman, basically
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
She will move on, tired of your mistakes and false promises. She will not reply to your " I miss you " text, she will not answer your calls. Because while you were busy in the sheets of someone else, she was healing, finding strenght, realizing that she was better off without you.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (I Hope You Stay)
β
I will not bandage all your Wounds I will not kiss all your Bruises I will not admire all your Scars Instead I will watch you As you bandage yourself And mend all your bruises And wear your own scars Because you are your own Hero And all your sadness is Yours And I will love you Because of it All
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
I am sure they will make the road to recovery seem clean. Theyβll use words to make healing seem pretty and pretend the bandages donβt feel heavy and still cause pain. Your sadness is never going to be near and tidy, and on some days you might even wonder how youβre going to pick up every shattered piece on the floor when burying your soul seems much easier. There will be moments where you have to convince yourself that feeling is better than being numb and that your aching bones are strong enough to carry on. There will be times things feel upside down and you are spinning on an axis that is never balanced. There will be days where you take steps backward and those new steps forward feel very far away. But even in the difficulty you are still taking steps, you are still making progress. And for every bump along the way, just remember you have come this far; might as well keep going.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
Weβve spent half the night arguing Because youβre there and Iβm here But what else can we do I guess this is growing up When things donβt work out And you fight to hold on Until you realize that sometimes The only thing you have Is to keep moving on
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
Let's be frank - there are times it feel the whole world is falling apart. You cannot compare your pain to others' so why respond with "someone else has it worse"?
Pain is immeasurable when it's felt because in that moment it feels like the worst pain on earth.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
You remind me of home,
of all the simple things in life,
of light and love and the reasons I am not alone.
You remind me of hope,
of the sea and the sky,
every hug and every kiss from your lips to your thighs.
I have flown around the world and met no one like you
because you are all the things I keep coming back to.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
You can't skip chapters, that's not how life works. You have to read every line, meet every character. You won't enjoy all of it. Hell, some chapters will make you cry for weeks. You will read things you don't want to read, you will have moments when you don't want the pages to end. But you have to keep going. Stories keep the world revolving. Live yours, don't miss out.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Healing the Heart (Pillow Thoughts, #2))
β
Flowers on Your Doorstep You deserve flowers on your doorstep and coffee in the morning. You deserve notes left on your dashboard and ice cream sundaes at 3 a.m. You deserve honesty every day and to be kissed every hour. You deserve to be reminded how beautiful you are. And if you let me, Iβll show you every day. I promise.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
My mind repeats all the mistakes Iβve made, like a bad movie reminding me of all the things that cause me so much doubt.
There are things that go wrong in my life, like a roller coaster that twists and bends. People say that this is just how life goes. But too often I am wondering if maybe itβs just me. Too often I am thinking about how often my doubt shows.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Mending the Mind (Pillow Thoughts, #3))
β
I thought about kissing you today and yesterday and the day before that. I know Iβll think about kissing you tomorrow and the day after that and some more days after those days. I think about kissing you slowly and tracing my fingers along your lips. I think about kissing you in your car, in the rain, on your doorstep. I think about kissing your dimple, your cheek, your spot. I think about kissing only you not anyone else just you.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts)
β
I have never known what this sadness feels like when you cannot feel the sun or the air around you
And time they say will heal you
but even my own mother doesn't know what to do.
You promised to keep me safe
You knew what the others had done
and I fell for the sincerity in your face.
Maybe I deserved this
for trusting someone who could manipulate so easily
Maybe I deserved this
for not listening when mother knows best.
But all I was trying to do
was show you that even a monster can be loved.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Pillow Thoughts (Pillow Thoughts, #1))
β
I know I overthink too much, like my mind is the sky and it explodes and rains stardust. I know I can be insecure, like I am always staring in the mirror and seeing another. But I will love you wholly. I will think of you often. I will make you feel like the sun, never ever forgotten.
She said her favorite color was purple, and now I havenβt seen purple the same since. I see lavender and think of her, I see her bedroom walls and dream of her, I wear purple t-shirts to feel her around me, I write love letters in purple crayon, because she makes my heart wild and carefree.
I know life doesnβt play out like the movies. But I want a happy ending with you.
β
β
Courtney Peppernell (Mending the Mind (Pillow Thoughts, #3))