Summer Roommates Quotes

“If you were waiting around for a miracle to happen, stop waiting and take action. Leave the house and go for a walk. Smile at someone you pass on the street. Chat with the people behind the counters at the local shops. Invite opportunities for connection. Because miracles were really about humans interacting with humans; at least, many of them were. Some miracles were about humans interacting with members of other species.”
― Holly Chamberlin, Summer Roommates

“And then, one day in mid-April, she had happened upon an article in a national newspaper about a growing phenomenon in the United States as well as in parts of Europe. It was called co-living. Adults taking on roommates or housemates after divorce or after having lost a partner or even after years of having lived on their own. Co-living, it had been proved, had both financial and emotional benefits.”
― Holly Chamberlin, Summer Roommates

“Dwelling on the negative could prevent all possibility of joy in the present as well as the future.”
― Holly Chamberlin, Summer Roommates

“Women have been defined and confined by the male gaze for way too long, " Mary said suddenly, aware that she had spoken the words almost as an announcement or a call to arms.

"What do you mean by the male gaze?" Patty asked.

"It's a term used when talking about a sexualized way of looking that empowers men while objectifying women," Mary explained. "For example, it's always been the assumption in the art world - painting, movies, what have you - that the core, important audience is the heterosexual male. Therefore, women, who are meant by their nature to be attractive to that audience, are shown as weak, available for sex and for being rescued, and even if a woman is portrayed as a heroine, her 'weak' point is sex, her pathetic need for a man's approval. Her costume, her attitude, all are chosen to remind the audience that deep down, no matter how bravely she behaves, she is a woman, meant for sex with men and nothing more.”
― Holly Chamberlin, Summer Roommates

“Sandra nodded. "Loss is universal. Is it just me or does it feel more difficult to bounce back from losses than it was when we were in our thirties or forties? Am I getting more sensitive? Is life just wearing me down? Aren't we supposed to care less about loss as we age? Aren't we supposed to let go of earthly matters and concentrate on the hereafter?"

"Assuming one believes in a hereafter," Mary noted.

"I've always assumed that the older you get, the more you become inured to loss. Your defenses become stronger or your expectations become lower. Either way, you're protected to some extent from the ravages of grief." Amanda shrugged. "At least, I hope that's the way it is. It would be awful to think that we don't learn enough from our earlier years to help us cope in our later years.”
― Holly Chamberlin, Summer Roommates

“Recently, Sandra had read that nearly one in three adults in the United States lived with a roommate or a parent, and that almost a quarter of people over forty sought out a roommate after being divorced or after the death of a spouse. What was fueling this trend, if it could be called that, toward a no-solitary domestic life? Loneliness alone? Or were economic factors just as important?”
― Holly Chamberlin, Summer Roommates

“But it was often family that managed to hurt a person the most deeply.”
― Holly Chamberlin, Summer Roommates

“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Patty added. “My father always said that.” Mary laughed. “What doesn’t kill you leaves you scarred, wary, and weary.”
― Holly Chamberlin, Summer Roommates