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Barbara
https://www.goodreads.com/soulflame1
Good Grief
by
There was something so satisfying in knowing that I was helping people beyond my own family and making a contribution to the world beyond the children I had brought into it.
“But happiness is a liar, for it makes us believe it will last forever, when it never does.”
― Babylonia
― Babylonia
“Power changes men, and not for the better or kings and soldiers wouldn't be so merciless. And on such power the world is built: gods and kings at the top, who are bound to no will but their own., then governors and courtiers, then soldiers and so on, until, at the bottom, common people such as herself. All commoners can do is pray and worship, gaining favors with loyalty and adulation. And, of course, subdue those even smaller and weaker than they are.”
― Babylonia
― Babylonia
“You must make your own map of the world. Search out your own piece of sky and patch of earth, your own awning to sleep under when it is raining and it feels the sun may never shine again, for there will certainly be such days. No one can walk this path for you. You cannot simply follow in another's footsteps, as though life were a complicated dance, every turn and twist memorized and prepared for ahead of time. There are many things in the world you can inherit: money, land, power, a crown. But an adventure is not one of them; you must make your own journey.”
― Joan
― Joan
“Prohibition had been good to Tijuana . . . . The number of saloons had doubled in the span of a few years. Gambling clubs mushroomed: Monte Carlo, the Tivoli Bar, the Foreign Club. Raunchy establishments mixed with others that promised a glimpse of "old Mexico," a false creation more romantic than any Hollywood film. But what did the tourists know? The Americans streamed into Mexico, ready to construct a new playground for themselves, to drink the booze that was forbidden in Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, but flowed abundantly across the border. Lady Temperance had no abode here.”
― Gods of Jade and Shadow
― Gods of Jade and Shadow
“What would I gain by being a man?" she says. "A cock, a deeper voice, hair across my chest. I would not become stronger. I am already strong." And, she thinks, I would inherit several weaknesses of man's nature: his lust, his boundless aggression, his desire to tame all that he touches--the beasts of the field, the earth, women. For a man cannot see anything in the world without wishing to wear it like a trophy on his back, to call himself master over it. To her, this is what it means to be a man.”
― Joan
― Joan
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