Kattie > Kattie's Quotes

“If you let people into your life a little bit, they can be pretty damn amazing.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“Life is a constant struggle between being an individual and being a member of the community.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“I think all of us are always five years old in the presence and absence of our parents.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“If you're good at it, and you love it, and it helps you navigate the river of the world, then it can't be wrong.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“Poverty doesn’t give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“There are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We all have pain. And we all look for ways to make the pain go away.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“Drinking would shut down my seeing and my hearing and my feeling,' she used to say. 'Why would I want to be in the world if I couldn't touch the world with all of my senses intact?”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“I've learned that the worst thing a parent can do is ignore their children”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“We Indians really should be better liars, considering how often we've been lied to.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“In the middle of a crazy and drunk life, you have to hang onto the good and sober moments tightly.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“Yep, my daddy was an undependable drunk. But he'd never missed any of my organized games, concerts, plays, or picnics. He may not have loved me perfectly, but he loved me as well as he could. (189)”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“Well," she said, "how can I be sure there aren't invisible people in the world? Scientists didn't believe in the mountain gorilla for hundreds of years. And now look. So if scientists can be wrong, then all of us can be wrong. I mean, what if all those invisible people ARE scientists? Think about that one.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“He likes to pretend he lives inside the comic books. I guess a fake life inside a cartoon is a lot better than his real life.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

“You don’t know what goes on in anyone’s life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, you can’t be that precise and selective. When you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re messing with their entire life. Everything. . . affects everything.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“A lot of you cared, just not enough.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“But you can't get away from yourself. You can't decide not to see yourself anymore. You can't decide to turn off the noise in your head.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“If my love were an ocean,
there would be no more land.
If my love were a desert,
you would see only sand.
If my love were a star-
late at night, only light.
And if my love could grow wings,
I'd be soaring in flight.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“Sometimes we have thoughts that even we don't understand. Thoughts that aren't even true—that aren't really how we feel—but they're running through our heads anyway because they're interesting to think about.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“What you don't understand, you can make mean anything.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“You don't know what goes on in anyone's life but your own.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“I don't know what's going on with you,' the man says from across the counter, 'but I'm not taking your money.' He blows into a straw and pinches both ends shut.
I shake my head and reach back for my wallet. 'No, I'll pay.'
He winds the straw tighter and tighter. 'I'm serious. It was only a milkshake. And like I said, I don't know what's going on, and I don't know how I can help, but something's clearly gone wrong in your life, so I want you to keep your money.' His eyes search mine, and I know he means it.
I don't know what to say. Even if the words would come, my throat is so tight it won't let them escape.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“Suicide. It's something I've been thinking about. Not too seriously, but I have been thinking about it.”

That's the note. Word for word. And I know it's word for word because I wrote it dozens of times before delivering it. I'd write it, throw it away, write it, crumple it up, throw it away.

But why was I writing it to begin with? I asked myself that question every time I printed the words onto a new sheet of paper. Why was I writing this note? It was a lie. I hadn't been thinking about it. Not really. Not in detail. The thought would come into my head and I'd push it away.

But I pushed it away a lot.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“Maybe if I forgot things once in a while, we'd all be a little bit happier.”
― Jay Asher, Thirteen Reasons Why

“You can't spend so much time in a place and not carry a bit of it inside you.”
― Frank Beddor, The Looking Glass Wars

“Silence is hereby outlawed. Silence breeds independent thought, which in turn breeds dissent.”
― Frank Beddor, The Looking Glass Wars

“For most of the universe's inhabitants, life is not all gummy wads and tarty tarts; is a struggle against hardship, unfairness, corruption, abuse, and adversity in all its guises, where even to survive - let alone survive with dignity - is heroic. To soldier through the days in the wake of failure is the courageous act of many.”
― Frank Beddor, The Looking Glass Wars

“It is supposed that power corrupts," the caterpillar said in a voice as untroubled as time itself. "Yet the powerful are often corrupt before they are powerful. In fact, I find that they too often become powerful by being corrupt. Whether real or perceived, a lack of power can also corrupt.”
― Frank Beddor, ArchEnemy

“If curiosity killed the cat, it was satisfaction that brought it back.”
― Holly Black, Tithe

“Yeah, the whole family knows. It's no big deal. One night at dinner I said, 'Mom, you know the forbidden love that Spock has for Kirk? Well, me too.' It was easier for her to understand that way.”
― Holly Black, Tithe