Is She Really Going Out with Him? Quotes

“Even if I’m too late, even if he doesn’t call, I still needed to say it. Because true love does not cower in the shadows; it roars, loud and proud, until it has given its all.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“For me, falling in love feels like gazing up at a dark sky. First, there is nothing but blackness, then gradually your eyes adjust, a few stars come into view, then suddenly, you see everything—thousands of stars, an infinite spectrum of light. It’s mind-blowing. Falling out of love feels the same but in reverse. One by one the stars recede, gray clouds sweep in. Then one day you realize you are alone in the dark, there’s nothing out there.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“I guess some things in life you don’t get to choose; you can’t choose the plot, but you can choose the soundtrack.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“There is a whole new chapter waiting for you, all you need to do is keep turning the pages.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“I am not a phoenix. I am a dazed pigeon, looking for crumbs. But I am fine with that; being a phoenix looks exhausting.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“Who’s Patrick E.?” Lottie asks. Ethan shrugs. “I don’t know. Mum wanted to smash him.” “The patriarchy,” I explain, covering my face with my hands. “Oh yes, I know him,” Lottie says, biting back a smile, as she thrusts her car into gear. “That guy’s got a lot to answer for.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“Don’t let life make you hard, Anna. It’s the soft, gooey middle that makes it all so delightful.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“I realize how much I take for granted. I am free to divorce, to date, to earn my own living, to be alone if I want to be, to choose my own happiness. How many women—people—throughout history have not had that, still do not have that?”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“There’s a window of opportunity where you can correct someone who calls you the wrong name; after that, you have to either never see them again or just be that new name forever.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“I wish I’d gotten to fall further into love rather than out of it.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“if I ever fall in love again, I hope it’s with someone who will find me a bucket to be sick in.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” —Nora Ephron”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“I’d make an exception for you. You seem worth the neck strain,’ Will says.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out With Him?

“I read this article about how your birth order shapes your family experience,” he tells me. “How the oldest bears the weight of parental expectation, while the youngest is allowed to be a free spirit. Do you ever think you would have been a different person if you’d been born second?” “Good question. I don’t know.” I pause, contemplating for a moment. “Maybe I’d be less afraid of failure. It’s a lot of pressure having a little sister who thinks you can do no wrong. How about you?” “I’m your classic middle child—the diplomat, forever trying to keep everyone happy. Maybe I would have been more ambitious if I’d been the oldest.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“Am I world-weary? Is that why I focus on the risk of humiliation and disappointment rather than delight in the joy of possibility?”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“I already mentioned it to a few people. You can spread the word that we broke up if you like,” Neil says, stuffing his hands into his pockets. My gut swirls with indignation, and I clamp my jaw shut. This is why people date online—it’s easier to never see people again.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“A long-forgotten part of me is waking up, and it feels wonderful, like emerging from hibernation into a spring full of possibilities.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“true love does not cower in the shadows; it roars, loud and proud, until it has given its all.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“I'm not allergic to the outdoors, I enjoy the indoors.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“Come over here, you minx.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“Happy on my own, but even happier with you”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“Whatever the future has in store, I know I want you in mine. As for the rest, well, as the saying goes, que será, será.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“I am not broken. I have loved and I have lost, but my heart still works. There will be other chapters. I will love again. Because—whatever the fallout—to feel like this about someone, to see and be seen so entirely, it is worth any risk. What I really reconnected with at the retreat was myself—what I need, what I want, and what I am capable of feeling”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“All the reasons not to be together might be surmountable, because love is rare, and if you’re lucky enough to feel it, you shouldn’t let it pass you by.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“The baggage we carry isn’t a bad thing; it is our substance, our history, the experiences that make us who we are”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“Time feels different when it’s marked by the movement of the sun rather than a clock.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“While on paper I might be “single” again, my true status is complicated. The fallout from divorce is like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion. There’s the initial shock wave, the devastation and upheaval. Beyond the initial blast radius, there’s a wasteland: your shared dreams, the job of disentangling your finances, your living situation. Once you’ve gotten through that, there’s another fallout zone full of more nuanced challenges: loss of confidence, confusion, jealousy, anger, being left with a heart that—while it might no longer be broken—has gone into hibernation for its own protection. To put it simply, I wasn’t open to a new relationship.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“Online dating, specifically, seemed about as appealing as the three-day-old cup of tea you find abandoned in the microwave. Having met my husband at university and experienced the slow build of friendship that ignites into something more, I had no concept of dating someone I didn’t already know. I couldn’t fathom how one could judge someone on a snapshot or a list of their interests. Even if I could get past the concept of “swiping,” a few hours in a bar with someone felt too pressured, too much like a job interview.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“Mum ripped up a schoolbook, then blamed it on Patrick E.” “Who’s Patrick E.?” Lottie asks. Ethan shrugs. “I don’t know. Mum wanted to smash him.” “The patriarchy,” I explain, covering my face with my hands. “Oh yes, I know him,” Lottie says, biting back a smile, as she thrusts her car into gear. “That guy’s got a lot to answer for.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?

“He smells incredible, like Christmas morning and clean sheets.”
― Sophie Cousens, Is She Really Going Out with Him?