Atmosphere

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

‘You have to have something on the line, for it to be called character.’ ”

Bravery is being unafraid of something other people are afraid of. Courage is being afraid, but strong enough to do it anyway.”

My God, she thought, what else can I do?

Because the world had decided that to be soft was to be weak, even though in Joan’s experience being soft and flexible was always more durable than being hard and brittle. Admitting you were afraid always took more guts than pretending you weren’t. Being willing to make a mistake got you further than never trying. The world had decided that to be fallible was weak. But we are all fallible. The strong ones are the ones who accept it.

Life’s not easy for anybody, first of all.