“
I once thought that grief was chronic, that all you could do was appreciate the good days and take them along with the bad. And then I started to think that maybe the good days aren't just days; maybe the good days can be good weeks, good months, good years. Now I wonder if grief isn't something like a shell. You wear it for a long time and then one day you realize you've outgrown it. So you put it down.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (One True Loves)
“
Dancing barefoot in the snow
Cold can't touch her, high or low
She's blues dressed up like rock 'n' roll
Untouchable, she'll never fold.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Daisy Jones & The Six)
“
She'll know not to settle for anything less than a love that changes her life
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Forever, Interrupted)
“
Now I wonder if grief isn’t something like a shell. You wear it for a long time and then one day you realize you’ve outgrown it. So you put it down. It doesn’t mean that I want to let go of the memories of you or the love I have for you. But it does mean that I want to let go of the sadness.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (One True Loves)
“
It is as if I have lived with a hard shell all over my body and you have cracked it and it has all fallen off. I am fresh again.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Evidence of the Affair)
“
To not have to pretend to be human, in that moment. Because I felt gone. I felt like my soul had left my body and I was just a shell.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Daisy Jones & The Six)
“
She's blues dressed up like rock n roll/untouchable, she'll never fold.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Daisy Jones & The Six)
“
No one could possibly understand what it meant to watch a person alter so drastically in front of them, to see them change and deteriorate until eventually there was just a hollow shell that no longer remotely resembled the person
”
”
Victoria Jenkins (The First One To Die (Detectives King and Lane, #2))
“
she's blues dressed up like rock 'n' roll
untouchable, she'll never fold
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Daisy Jones & The Six)
“
She’ll be safer with me.” “Because you’re in love with her?” Torres questioned. I shook my head. “Because Jenkins isn’t willing to die for her.
”
”
Rebecca Yarros (In the Likely Event)
“
You going to hand her over to Jenkins?” Torres asked, leaning against the wall next to me. “Every instinct tells me not to,” I said quietly. “But at least he’d treat her as just another detail.” “Just another mission.” Torres nodded. “Solid point.” Jenkins wouldn’t spare a single glance for her eyes, her smile, her curves. He’d be 100 percent focused. “She’ll be safer with me.” “Because you’re in love with her?” Torres questioned. I shook my head. “Because Jenkins isn’t willing to die for her.
”
”
Rebecca Yarros (In the Likely Event)
“
She'll have you running
In the wrong direction
Have you coming
For the wrong obsessions
Oh, she's gunning
For your redemption
Have you headed
Back to confession.
You one more impossible man
Running from her
Clutching what you stole.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Daisy Jones & The Six)
“
Now I wonder if grief isn’t something like a shell. You wear it for a long time and then one day you realize you’ve outgrown it. So you put it down.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (One True Loves)
“
She’s blues dressed up like rock ’n’ roll/untouchable, she’ll never fold.” That was me.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Daisy Jones & The Six)
“
I wonder if grief isn’t something like a shell. You wear it for a long time and then one day you realize you’ve outgrown it. So you put it down.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (One True Loves)
“
If she wins this match, she’ll tie my lifetime record of twenty Grand Slam singles titles.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Carrie Soto Is Back)
“
If she takes the next point, she’ll win the US Open and hit a record-breaking twenty-three Slams—a feat that, just a few short years ago, was unheard of. But that’s Nicki for you. Unstoppable. Raising the bar for absolutely everyone.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Carrie Soto Is Back)
“
Suicide among gay teens is one of the highest suicide rates of any group. People don’t commit suicide for other “sins.” No one kills themselves so they can continue getting baseless divorces, or to gossip or steal. People commit suicide when a fundamental part of who they are is being destroyed, and it is better to not be alive than to be a hollow shell.
”
”
Jedidiah Jenkins (Mother, Nature: A 5,000-Mile Journey to Discover if a Mother and Son Can Survive Their Differences)
“
I once thought grief was chronic, that all you could do was appreciate the good days and take them along with the bad. And then I started to think that maybe the good days aren’t just days; maybe the good days can be good weeks, good months, good years. Now I wonder if grief isn’t something like a shell. You wear it for a long time and then one day you realize you’ve outgrown it. So you put it down.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (One True Loves)
“
I wonder if grief is something like a shell.
You wear it for a long time and then one day you realize you've outgrown it.
So you put it down.
It doesn't mean that I want to let go of the memories of you or the love I have for you. But it does mean that I want to let go of the sadness.
I don't ever forget you, Jesse. I don't want to and I don't think I'm capable of it.
But I do think I can put the pain down. I think I can leave it on the ground and walk away, only coming back to visit every once in a while, no longer carrying it with me.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (One True Loves)
“
I once thought grief was chronic, that all you could do was appreciate the good days and take them along with the bad. And then I started to think that maybe the good days aren’t just days; maybe the good days can be good weeks, good months, good years. Now I wonder if grief isn’t something like a shell. You wear it for a long time and then one day you realize you’ve outgrown it. So you put it down. It doesn’t mean that I want to let go of the memories of you or the love I have for you. But it does mean that I want to let go of the sadness.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (One True Loves)
“
And I know it scares you through and through No one knows you like I do Try to tell me that ain’t true Oh, we could be lovely If this could get ugly C’mon now, honey Let yourself think about it Can you really live without it? Oh, we could be lovely If this could get ugly IMPOSSIBLE WOMAN Impossible woman Let her hold you Let her ease your soul Sand through fingers Wild horse, but she’s just a colt Dancing barefoot in the snow Cold can’t touch her, high or low She’s blues dressed up like rock ’n’ roll Untouchable, she’ll never fold She’ll have you running In the wrong direction Have you coming For the wrong obsessions Oh, she’s gunning For your redemption Have you headed Back to confession Sand through fingers Wild horse, but she’s just a colt Dancing barefoot in the snow Cold can’t touch her, high or low She’s blues dressed up like rock ’n’ roll Untouchable, she’ll never fold Walk away from the impossible
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Daisy Jones & The Six)
“
It means I’m not alone in this. It means Ben is here with me. It means my life, that felt empty and miserable, now feels difficult but manageable. I can be a single mother. I can raise this child by myself. I can tell this child all about his father. About how his father was a gentle man, a kind man, a funny man, a good man. If it’s a girl, I can tell her to find a man like her father. If it’s a boy, I can tell him to be a man like his father. I can tell him his father would have been so proud of him. If he’s gay, I can tell him to be like his father and find a man like his father—which would be the best of all worlds. If she grows up to be a lesbian, she won’t need to be or find anyone like her father, but she’ll still love him. She’ll know that she came from a man that would have loved her. She’ll know she came from two people that loved each other fiercely. She’ll know not to settle for anything less than a love that changes her life.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Forever, Interrupted)
“
Homer looked back at me. 'Pete, can I tell ya somethin' real important?'
'Sure, what is it?' I couldn't imagine what Homer was about to say.
He sat down on a rounded rock. I sat down too.
'One thing I've learned is that ya never know what's gonna happen to ya in this old life. Everything can change, just like that.' He snapped his fingers, loud and fast. 'You never know what might happen to ya and that dawg ah yers. Ya know what you should do? You ought to settle down here ... On my mountain.' His words were coming quickly and eagerly. 'I'll teach ya all the ways of livin' up here, and someday when ya get a place built, you can have yerself a family.'
Homer wasn't kidding me.
'And, besides, ya know I ain't gonna be here forever. When I leave, then you can take care of this place for me. You understand more than anyone why I love this place so much. I know ya wouldn't let them lumbermen and hunters come up here and hurt my place.'
There was a shell around Homer and reaching his heart was like breaking a granite boulder with your bare hands. But now, Homer's heart was breaking. After he finished he turned away from me. When he turned back, his questioning eyes were teary.
'Homer, what you just said was beautiful.' I looked down at my boots and rolled a rock back and forth under my heel. 'But, I don't know. I'll have to give it some serious thought, okay?'
As quickly as Homer had broken his stride and opened himself up, he was fast on his feet walking back up the mountain. He stayed as quiet as the king trees that he loved so much, never again saying a word to me about his amazing invitation.
”
”
Peter Jenkins (A Walk Across America)
“
Crawling through the snow, Panse and his crew-mates black Panzer crew uniforms stood out starkly, and they were perfect targets, not only for Soviet riflemen, but for Red anti-tank gunners as well. Alternately running, diving and crawling, the four of the five men in the crew made it back to their regimental HQ. The fifth man, separated from the others, spent the night in a shell hole, covered in snow and earth and surrounded by Russians. What saved him was the parking of a T-34 right on top of his hole, which hid him from the Russians until the morning when they moved out. After a freezing night in the snow, the man struggled into the regimental HQ.
”
”
Ryan Jenkins (World War 2 Soldier Stories Part III: The Untold Stories of German Soldiers)
“
In practice, though, this commitment to suffering and sacrifice meant serving in uniform, taking up weapons, and inflicting death upon others. So constantly do such accounts portray soldiers undergoing sacrificial death that it is sometimes hard to tell who, if anyone, is actually attacking, rather than merely dying nobly. Somebody, surely, must be firing the shells and wielding the bayonets.24
”
”
Philip Jenkins (The Great and Holy War: How World War I Became a Religious Crusade)
“
I don’t know if there is a right and wrong way to grieve. I just know that losing you has gutted me in a way I honestly didn’t think was possible. I’ve felt pain I didn’t think was human. At times, it has made me lose my mind. (Let’s just say that I went a little crazy up on our roof.) At times, it has nearly broken me. And I’m happy to say that now is a time when your memory brings me so much joy that just thinking of you brings a smile to my face. I’m also happy to say that I’m stronger than I ever knew. I have found meaning in life that I never would have guessed. And now I’m surprising myself once again by realizing that I am ready to move forward. I once thought grief was chronic, that all you could do was appreciate the good days and take them along with the bad. And then I started to think that maybe the good days aren’t just days; maybe the good days can be good weeks, good months, good years. Now I wonder if grief isn’t something like a shell. You wear it for a long time and then one day you realize you’ve outgrown it. So you put it down. It doesn’t mean that I want to let go of the memories of you or the love I have for you. But it does mean that I want to let go of the sadness. I won’t ever forget you, Jesse. I don’t want to and I don’t think I’m capable of it. But I do think I can put the pain down. I think I can leave it on the ground and walk away, only coming back to visit every once in a while, no longer carrying it with me. Not only do I think I can do that, but I think I need to. I will carry you in my heart always, but I cannot carry your loss on my back anymore. If I do, I’ll never find any new joy for myself. I will crumble under the weight of your memory. I have to look forward, into a future where you cannot be. Instead of back, to a past filled with what we had. I have to let you go and I have to ask you to let me go. I truly believe that if I work hard, I can have the sort of life for myself that you always wanted for me. A happy life. A satisfied life. Where I am loved and I love in return. I need your permission to find room to love someone else. I’m so sorry that we never got the future we talked about. Our life together would have been grand. But I’m going out into the world with an open heart now. And I’m going to go wherever life takes me. I hope you know how beautiful and freeing it was to love you when you were here.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (One True Loves)
“
have lived with a hard shell all over my body and you have cracked it and it has all fallen off. I am fresh again.
”
”
Taylor Jenkins Reid (Evidence of the Affair)
“
You must get Mrs Browning from Uttoxeter Road,” advised Jacob’s mother. “She’s the most experienced midwife around these parts. She’s delivered ‘undreds of babbies in ‘er time. She’ll look after you very well, my ducks.
”
”
Ann Brough (The Bitter Sweet Life of Annie Jenkins)
“
But we’re Sukie’s brother and sister,’ I protested. ‘You’re supposed to be her friend!’
Queenie looked surprised. ‘Me? I don’t know what you mean.’
‘You’ve written to…’ I trailed off hopelessly. There was no point in arguing any more. Queenie has made up her mind.
‘Well, I don’t trust Esther Jenkins,’ I muttered, as much to myself as anyone. ‘And I bet she’ll not be as quick doing the deliveries, either.’
Queenie gave me a withering look. ‘For your information, Esther’s moved house, city and country more times than you’ve had hot dinners. I don’t think she’d manage it again. At least you two have each other.’
Glancing at Cliff, all I felt was more worry, not less. I hadn’t got the hang of this ‘big sister’ lark – you only had to look at Cliff’s split lip to see my attempt at looking after him wasn’t exactly going well.
‘All Esther’s anger, all that bluster – it’s just a front.’ Queenie went on. ‘Behind it she’s a smashing girl. You need to give her a chance.’
‘She said horrible things about my sister!’ I insisted, though I was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Because I’d started the fight, hadn’t I? I’d been the angry one – Esther had almost tried to apologise.
Queenie stopped. ‘You’ve heard of the Kindertransport, have you?’
‘Some Jewish kids joined our school from Europe,’ I said. ‘But I don’t see what –’
‘Esther was one of them,’ Queenie interrupted. ‘Not at your school but another one in London. She’s a Jewish refugee.’
‘Well, she as good as called Sukie a spy!’ I pointed out.
Queenie ignored my comment. ‘Esther’s had a terrible time of it. Everyone she loves has either died or disappeared, or failing that, lives in another country. Imagine what that feels like, can you?’
I swallowed miserably. The thing was I could imagine it – bits of it, anyway – and I felt ashamed, which didn’t improve my temper.
‘That doesn’t excuse what she did to Cliff’s lip,’ I mumbled, though really I was cross with myself. After what I’d overheard about kosher meat, I should have realised she was a Kindertransport child. But I didn’t think, did I? Instead, I’d grabbed her by the hair.
What sort of person was I turning into to be so bitter? So angry?
Queenie set off walking again. ‘That lip’ll heal in no time. Now hurry up and stop dawdling.’
Glancing sideways at Cliff, I felt a funny sensation in my chest. His lip looked horrid now but he would recover – Queenie was right. At least he was here, my living, breathing, sticky-handed brother. I was pretty lucky, all things considered.
”
”
Emma Carroll (Letters from the Lighthouse)