Tell Me Everything (Amgash, #5)

by Elizabeth Strout

like many of us, he does not know himself as well as he assumes to, and he would never believe he had anything worthy in his life to document. But he does; we all do.

“I wonder how many people in long marriages live with ghosts beside them.”

We like to think that our lives are within our control, but they may not be completely so. We are necessarily influenced by those who have come before us.

the point is that she had her story, as we all have our stories.

I wonder how many people out there are able to be strong—or strong enough—because of the person they’re married to.”

These are broken people. Big difference between being a broken person and being evil. In case you don’t know. And if you don’t think everyone is broken in some way, you’re wrong. I’m telling you this because you have been so fortunate in your life, you probably don’t even know such broken people exist.”

“That was about the same thing that every story Lucy and I have shared is about. People suffer. They live, they have hope, they even have love, and they still suffer. Everyone does. Those who think they’ve not suffered are lying to themselves.

“It’s quite a world we live in, isn’t it. For years I thought: I will miss all this when I die. But the way the world is these days, I sometimes think I’ll be damned glad to be dead.”