Between Friends & Lovers Quotes

“Strong isn’t a personality trait. It’s a sign that you’re neglected and not protected. It’s just as much evidence of your trauma as it is of your triumph. So this year, I say, enough with strength. I’m entering my damsel era.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“You might think love is unconditional because you’ve been loved unconditionally. But from everything I’ve seen, for a woman to be loved, she has to serve a purpose. She has to look good on your arm, but not too good or she’s a slut. She has to be sensual but puritan, needs to work or she’s a gold digger, but not more than her man or she’s a harpy. She can’t gain weight, or she’ll have let herself go, and if she has your children, she has to prioritize them over herself at every turn or she’s a bad mother. She has to be strong, the backbone of the family, an extension of a man instead of his partner. If she defies any of these terms, most people won’t blame a man for telling the world that his love for her has dried up.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“You can tell a lot about a person by how they react to someone’s truth. Talk to them straight, without all the social niceties, and they’ll let you know sooner rather than later if they’re someone you can trust.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“When you’ve been living in darkness so long, you learn to function within it. You start to feel like the light is just a myth, like everyone else squints their way through life too. But it doesn’t have to be that way. You deserve more than a perpetual dusk.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“As you wish,' he said, and then he was fireman-carrying her over his threshold and into the permanent home he'd made for her in his heart.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“It was aggravating, being in love with someone who could see all of your secrets in your face except for the ones that mattered the most.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“Just because you’re pretty doesn’t mean you get to be an asshole.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“Virginity is just a social construct, and sex is just a physical act. You can go out to Viagra Triangle right now and find some guy who'll be willing to sleep with you, then roll over a few minutes later feeling completely unchanged and totally let down." He leaned in closer, enthralled by her focus, by how her gaze hadn't lifted from his mouth since he'd started speaking. "But . . . wanting someone for more than just their physicality? Wanting to hear from them, speak to them, see them, every second of the day? That feeling when their hand brushes against yours and you ask yourself if you want to hold it? That first kiss? It amplifies everything. You feel like you're on fire. It's transformative, in the best ways. In the worst ways too. That's what I want for myself. It's what I want for you too, especially since you're new to this. And if we can find that together, great. But I'm not taking anything less.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“strong. And I’m here to say: enough of that. Strong isn’t a personality trait. It’s a sign that you’re neglected and not protected. It’s just as much evidence of your trauma as it is of your triumph. So this year, I say, enough with strength. I’m entering my damsel era. I’m eating cake and being pretty and crying when I’m hurt, and apologizing for none of it. Won’t you join me?”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“For someone so desperate to pretend that the twenty-four-karat-gold diamond-encrusted spoon lodged in his throat was a mere silver one, Ezra sure loved to test the limits of what his money could buy.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“The smile that broke out across Mal's face was sunlight therapy, a lightning flash in the midst of my melancholy.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“Strong isn’t a personality trait. It’s a sign that you’re neglected and not protected. It’s just as much evidence of your trauma as it is of your triumph. So this year, I say, enough with strength.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“Be aware that standing out might not always be in your best interest, and relish the irony that existing in your unaltered self is considered a statement.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“for a woman to be loved, she has to serve a purpose.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“He picked up a cherry, pitched it into the lake, and somehow the fact that it bobbed in the water instead of sinking underneath frustrated him more.”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers

“Like—here’s a question for you: When you imagine a world without limits, without bills, without duty and expectations, what do you see yourself doing?”
― Shirlene Obuobi, Between Friends & Lovers