A Different Kind of Gone

by Catherine Ryan Hyde

Then she decided all her misgivings were of no use to her now, and it was time to put them away. Put them to bed

once and for all. When you’re deciding, they serve a very important purpose. Once you’ve decided, they’re of no use to you. Even if what you’ve decided is a mistake.

“We all have a different bottom we need to hit.”

“A good rider takes the horse’s limitations into account. Good horsemanship doesn’t look for trouble. You avoid what trouble you can and deal with what can’t be avoided. It’s kind of like everything else in life that way.”

“What is this world we’re living in, Norma?” “It’s what we have to work with,” Norma said. “It’s the only world we’ve got.”

Decide one thing, betray one party. Turn around and decide the other thing, and get ready to be told you just burned the people on the other side. Because people’s needs are always in conflict. There’s no such thing as everybody happy all at once.

“Feelings don’t really respond to facts.”

This is the problem with pushing everybody away all your life. Telling them to keep moving because you don’t need or want anybody. Sooner or later people are going to take you at your word and give you what you say you want.

If it makes you happy, then feel happy. There’s no law against feelings.”

in this life you can choose whatever you want. But take a look at the price tag first, because you’re going to have to pay for it.’

“Nobody’s just a monster,”

“The worst person has something good about them. The best person has something bad.