Sheila

“But then I tell myself that it wasn't as if justice was going to be served no matter what I did. Justice didn't stand a chance. And I hate that. I hate that I stopped believing in things I didn't even know were matters of belief, like justice and fairness. Or honesty. Or the promises people make to each other. Of all the things Cal took from me, that's when I think I miss the most: the apparently naïve belief that you kept your promises. You know what the prosecutor told me? ;Everyone cheats,' as if that was supposed to make it all right.”
― Sue Halpern, Summer Hours at the Robbers Library

“Sometimes when he looks at me, I wonder if he can see where I've been, if he knows what I've felt. It makes me wonder what I don't know about him, too, and the thought makes me feel, oddly, closer to him; it reminds me of us at the beginning, when we chose what to reveal and had the courtesy of shielding each other from things that were unpalatable, of being our best selves for the other, instead of knowing too much.”
― Emily Itami, Fault Lines

“Of course, he knew something was wrong, he was a librarian—part psychologist, bartender, bouncer, and detective.”
― Janet Skeslien Charles, The Paris Library

“...I love my wife, but we have grown apart. I had my career, she had her job--'"
"Wait," Rusty interrupted, "He said that?"
"Oh, yes," Kit said. "And no one seemed to think anything of it, except for me. It was like hearing for the first time what he really though of me and what I'd chosen to do with my life. I realized no one thinks being a librarian is as awesome as being a neurosurgeon, but I always thought I was doing something valuable, putting books in the hands of readers. Books can save lives, too. I really believe that." And then more to herself than to Rusty: "Like mine.”
― Sue Halpern, Summer Hours at the Robbers Library