There Are Rivers in the Sky

by Elif Shafak

That is what growing up means, in some simple way: learning to repress all expressions of pure happiness and joy.

want you to be very successful. Remember, people like us cannot afford to fail. “People like us”…immigrants, exiles, refugees, newcomers, outsiders…Too

A tattoo is like a promise, they say, an oath inscribed into your skin, and you need to be sure you can keep it before you commit to it.

“Words are like birds,” says Mr. Bradbury. “When you publish books, you are setting caged birds free. They can go wherever they please. They can fly over the highest walls and across vast distances, settling in the mansions of the gentry, in farmsteads and laborers’ cottages alike. You never know whom those words will reach, whose hearts will succumb to their sweet songs.”

Books, like paper lanterns, provide us with a light amidst the fog.