Martine Askestad > Martine's Quotes

“Thank God for girlfriends. In this crazy, chaotic, divided world that was run by men, you could count on the women.”
― Kristin Hannah, The Women

“You know what they say about finding a man in Alaska—the odds are good, but the goods are odd.”
― Kristin Hannah, The Great Alone

“Another morning comes. It always does. Time always moves at the same rate, only feelings have different speeds. Every day can mark a whole lifetime or a single heartbeat, depending on who you spend it with. *”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown

“There are few words that are harder to explain than "loyalty." It's always regarded as a positive characteristic, because a lot of people would say that many of the best things people do for each other occur precisely because of loyalty. The only problem is that many of the very worst things we do to each other occur because of the same thing.”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown

“For the perpetrator, rape lasts just a matter of minutes. For the victim, it never stops.”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown

“For me, culture is as much about what we encourage as what we actually permit.” David asked what he meant by that, and Sune replied: “That most people don’t do what we tell them to. They do what we let them get away with.”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown

“Is that why you’re here? To talk about that? Sweet Jesus . . . you men. It’s never your fault, is it? When are you going to admit that it isn’t ‘hockey’ that raises these boys, it’s YOU LOT? In every time and every place, I’ve come across men who blame their own stupidity on crap they themselves have invented. ‘Religion causes wars,’ ‘guns kill people,’ it’s all the same old bullshit!” “I didn’t mea . . . ,” Sune tries, but has to duck when she tries to slap him again. “Keep your trap shut when I’m talking! Fucking men! YOU’RE the problem! Religion doesn’t fight, guns don’t kill, and you need to be very fucking clear that hockey has never raped anyone! But do you know who do? Fight and kill and rape?” Sune clears his throat. “Men?” “MEN! It’s always fucking men!”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown

“If you spend your whole life being someone else, who will be you?”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown

“The only time I'm not moving forward is when I'm taking aim.”
― Fredrik Backman, Beartown

“But better to get hurt by the truth than comforted with a lie.”
― Khaled Hosseini

“It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living.”
― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

“Don't look for peace. Don't look for any other state than the one you are in now; otherwise, you will set up inner conflict and unconscious resistance. Forgive yourself for not being at peace. The moment you completely accept your non-peace, your non-peace becomes transmuted into peace. Anything you accept fully will get you there, will take you into peace. This is the miracle of surrender”
― Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

“And I think to myself, wouldn't it be so lovely if we viewed ourselves through the same lens as the people who love us?”
― Jessa Hastings, The Conditions of Will

“It’s a funny part of growing up, actually… Accepting that things that are better for you, healthier—they can still be painful. That the worst, most shameful day of my life to date would in turn become the most defining.”
― Jessa Hastings, The Conditions of Will

“Sometimes people have to be allowed to have something to live for in order to survive everything else.”
― Fredrik Backman, Us Against You

“They run only where there are lights. They don’t say anything but are both thinking the same thing: guys never think about light, it just isn’t a problem in their lives. When guys are scared of the dark, they’re scared of ghosts and monsters, but when girls are scared of the dark, they’re scared of guys.”
― Fredrik Backman, Us Against You

“Two drowning people with lead weights around their ankles may not be each other’s salvation; if they hold hands, they’ll just sink twice as fast. In the end the weight of carrying each other’s broken hearts becomes unbearable.”
― Fredrik Backman, Us Against You

“Maya is silent for a long time, then asks, 'Do you want boys or girls?'

Ana replies as if she's spent her whole life thinking about this, 'Boys.'

'Why?'

'Because the world is kind of shitty toward them sometimes. But it treats us like that nearly all the time.”
― Fredrik Backman, Us Against You

“But the thing about love languages,” Charlie says, “is it’s not just about how we express love, but how we receive love. You need someone to do something for you that makes you feel loved. Someone to help you.” I shake my head. “I hate asking for help.” “That’s because deep down, you want someone to see what you need before you have to ask.”
― Carley Fortune, One Golden Summer

“No, it’s because when you speak, he listens. When you smile, he smiles. When you need something, he offers help. When you give him something, he thanks you. You’re peas and carrots—I think you’ve found yourself a lifelong friend.”
― Carley Fortune, One Golden Summer

“This hurts too much to touch with words.”
― Fredrik Backman, The Winners

“We fool ourselves that we can protect the people we love, because if we accepted the truth we’d never let them out of our sight.”
― Fredrik Backman, The Winners

“People say that age brings wisdom, but for most of us that really isn't true, when we get old we've just accumulated more experiences, good and bad. The result is more likely to be cynicism than wisdom. When we're young we know nothing about all the very worst that can hit us, which is just as well, because otherwise we'd never leave the house.

And we would definitely never let go of those we love.”
― Fredrik Backman, The Winners

“People always say not to forget because then history will repeat itself. But maybe history will repeat itself anyway, and forgetting is how we bear it.”
― Sarah Damoff, The Bright Years

“Sorrow eats time. Be patient. Time eats sorrow. Louise Erdrich, LaRose”
― Sarah Damoff, The Bright Years

“There are two kinds of grief at a wake: grieving the loss of what was and grieving the loss of what wasn’t.”
― Sarah Damoff, The Bright Years