Death Valley

by Melissa Broder

This I forgive her immediately, as she looks to be about my age—and I know how hard it is to keep it all together.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m genuinely the introvert I think I am, or if it’s just that my Internet addiction has become a substitute for needing people.

I know I miss a lot of life by being on my phone all the time (that’s the point).

This is the problem with human relationships: you come to a person with one feeling and they’re having another.

I don’t know if there is such a thing as “officially lost,” or what makes a person maybe lost vs. sort of lost vs. lost. There were times in my life when I felt totally lost and then realized I was only sort of lost, or not lost at all. There were other times when I felt not-lost and later realized I was completely lost. Most of these were emotional.

Hello, is anyone there? Is anyone listening? It’s me reporting live. From wherever I am.

I’ve gone beyond emergency reserves. Now I’m on miracle reserves.

What’s so frightening about existing. It keeps going and also it will end.