Home Is Where the Bodies Are

by Jeneva Rose

I think it’s important to get rid of things from the past because they hold us back from going forward,

It’s always the least interesting people that have the most to say,

The more they talked about Emma and what they thought happened to her, the more I believed it wasn’t just a story, but a memory of my own they were describing. Funny how quickly you can turn on yourself, mistake a lie for the truth.

before all this happened, no one in this town paid me any mind. I thought that was unbearable, feeling invisible, like I don’t matter. But now I know that being detested is far worse than going unnoticed.”

We value the briefest moments most because they’re the ones that define us—a first kiss, a sudden death, an accident, a marriage proposal, a high . . .

Resentment only poisons the person who consumes it, not the one it’s intended for.

feels like both yesterday and a lifetime ago.” Lucas tilts his head. “It’s funny how time works. They say it’s linear but sometimes it feels like it’s happening all at once.

It’s hard to be forward when you’ve been living life backward.

I’ve learned there’s a lot of things you can bury, but the past isn’t one of them.

Loss is a shared experience, and it’s why we give to others when they are going through it. Casseroles, money, flowers, even a break.

Moments that change us don’t play by the rules of time.

Sometimes we do the wrong thing for all the right reasons.

I realized that life happens in between the beats of our own heart, and if it thumps too fast, there’s no space for us to live.

“Anger is easy, Rebecca. It’s the most rudimentary of human feelings. Babies experience anger. Psychopaths experience anger. People with little to no brain activity experience anger. But compassion and forgiveness are challenging.