The Flirt Quotes

“I'm going to tell you something that no magazine or novel or television show will ever let on. Love wears you down. We think of it as hearts and flowers and happily ever after but in real life, the things you have to do in the name of love kill you... You end up doing a thousand things in a day in the name of love that you wouldn't ask a dog to do.

Sex is the most powerful weapon in your arsenal

innocence is attractive in children, but it makes brittle, disappointed adults.

Someone liking you is just the beginning; it always starts nicely but before you know it it's like Persephone being dragged into the Underworld.

Romantic love is an illusion Hughie,. It can be manupulated, twisted, piled up like a bunch of fun-house mirrors. The very nature of it is deceptive. It promises closeness but the only thing is ever really reveals is the dreams and fears of the person with the obsessions. That's why it's so easy to control”
― Kathleen Tessaro, The Flirt

“We live in a disposable world. There's no point in investing yourself too heavily.


Love doesn't fix anything...it destroys more than it fixes. and when the dust has settled, it's just an afterthought. Lives still get ruined, people still leave, and life goes on and on and on.

the first forty-eight hours are the worst. the ego's taken a bit of a kicking. what you need is a constant supply of alcohol.

today was a day for taking tranquilizers washed down by vodka.”
― Kathleen Tessaro, The Flirt

“Loneliness isn’t relieved in a crowd.”
― Kathleen Tessaro, The Flirt

“If you can capture a woman’s imagination, then you will have her. But imagination is a strange creature. It needs time and distance to function properly.”
― Kathleen Tessaro, The Flirt

“what they mean by ‘love conquers all.’ It doesn’t transcend life. But it gives it integrity, a noble aim, no matter what the result.”
― Kathleen Tessaro, The Flirt

“Innocence is attractive in children but it makes brittle, disappointed adults.”
― Kathleen Tessaro, The Flirt

“the difference between presence, which includes everyone in its warm glow, and attitude, which keeps the whole world at bay.”
― Kathleen Tessaro, The Flirt

“You see, the truth is no one ever really falls in love with anyone but themselves. Love is a mirror; a reflective surface projecting who we wish we were. What we've all waiting for is someone to come along who will show us something new about ourselves that we can adore. And then, because someone loves us, in turn, we love ourselves. Does that make sense?”
― Kathleen Tessaro, The Flirt

“Love wears you down. We think of it as hearts and flowers and happily ever after but in real life, the things you have to do in the name of love kill you. I don’t know what it’s like for men, but that’s what it does to women. You end up doing a thousand things a day in the name of love that you wouldn’t ask a dog to do. And you never question it—not once. Why would you? It’s love, isn’t it? Then you wonder why you don’t feel romantic. Why, in fact, you don’t feel anything at all. I’ve been waiting for things to change, putting off my life till the kids are older or they sleep through the night or until my figure comes back, or my husband notices me…you name it, I’ve been waiting for it. And that’s not who I am.” She gestured to her body. “See this? I’m fed up with waiting. And I’m going to dress myself in the best bloody nightdress I can buy. So my question to you is: Are you going to make it? Or,” her eyes flashed, “are you going to write me off as another fat middle-aged middle-class woman who will just have to mend and make do?”
― Kathleen Tessaro, The Flirt

“What a shock it had been when she began to grow invisible to men and they no longer registered her. How humiliating to discover time had abducted her favorite version of herself and replaced it with a saggy middle-aged woman instead.”
― Kathleen Tessaro, The Flirt