We Burned So Bright Quotes

“We all float through space on a rock, hurtling toward forever. So many of us forget that it's other people who make life worth living. As much as we like to think so, we can't do this alone. Everyone needs someone. Maybe not all the time, but enough that it matters.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“You have a choice. You get to choose who you love. No matter what happens next, no one can take that away from you.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“You love someone long enough, their bodies become comfort, a home in blood and bone.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“But no one’s looking at their phones anymore. Not really. It’s like it took the end of the world for people to look up and see each other.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“Men in Charge, Rodney said, all of them, no matter what side of the aisle they’re on, are all criminals. Every single one of them. In a just world, anyone who was elected president would do so knowing that once their term was over, they’d go directly to prison for war crimes, no ifs, ands, or buts. Every single one of them. See how many Men in Charge would be keen on harming others if that were the case.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“When we were abandoned by the world, it was the women from our community who held our hands as we passed.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“I have hope, but it feels like lying.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“think of it this way: Every wrinkle on Rodney’s face is a memory. We’ve been together so long I know those lines as well as I know my own. I remember how it was when we first met. Smooth skin”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“You can be surrounded by people who love you, who want what’s best for you, and it’s still not enough. Because there’s something inside some people that eats up everything good. All the light.” He paused, stomach slick and oily. “Some people have black holes in them. They try and escape, they try and break free, but it’s too strong. Burns up everything until there’s nothing left but ash. And what does that mean for the rest of us? If we get too close, we run the risk of getting caught in the pull. But if we do nothing, what does that make us?”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“The best revenge any queer person can get is to be happy. It took me a while to realize that, but when I did, I’d never felt so free.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“Suffering is life,” Rodney said. “It’s part and parcel of living. It never really goes away, but you can become bigger around it. Stronger. The things you thought you weren’t capable of are easier than you think.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“You said that that’s what the universe is. Luck and happenstance. There’s no fate, no destiny. Sometimes it is horrible, devastating. But sometimes, it could lead to a life we couldn’t have predicted. A good life, even if it hurts. Out of everything in the universe, what were the chances that we’d find each other the way we did?”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“Don said, "You never believed in fate."
Rodney snorted. "No. You and me? We weren't destined to be. We're here because we worked for it. We worked hard. We survived some of the worst things people can live through. It's not fate. It was you and me who did it. No one and nothing else.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“He told them of the reason why it’s LGBT when it used to be GLBT. It was an honor bestowed upon lesbians”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“When backed into a corner, an animal could be dangerous. Humans were animals, and deadly ones at that.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“Rodney scowled at all of them. "Any lingo I've learned in the last twenty years has been against my will.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“He looked … he looked like Jeremy. The body did. An empty space where a soul like a dying star had lived.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“even with all our faults, we did something special. We were something extraordinary. Of all the chances in the universe, what’s the likelihood that we’d have survived long enough to learn to love and hate? It’s minuscule. Of course it is. If it wasn’t, we’d have found others long ago. And now, another minuscule chance has happened.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“Absolution. You want to know what I learned about it?” Rodney nodded. “You have to want it. Above all else. Because it’s so easy to stay stuck down in the muck. Even as it tears at you, it feels safe because it’s familiar. But that safety is a lie. The muck is filled with apathy that can spread like poison.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“Don looked over at him now and said, “I think about you all the time.” Rodney grunted. “I’m right here.” “I know. But still.” Rodney stared straight ahead. “What should we say?” He coughed, clearing his throat. “When we get there. To him.” “Everything,” Don said, though he was careful about it. Dangerous ground, this. “We hold nothing back.” “Right,” Rodney said gruffly. Don said, “I think about you. Your face. Your eyes. Your mind. I’m still so in love with you.” “I know,” Rodney said.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“It took them almost two weeks to see each other again. This time, for dinner, one where they were so caught up in conversation that they didn’t see the restaurant closing down around them. They kissed once that night, a bare scrape of lips, hidden in the shadows of the parking lot. Three days later, Rodney had spent the night. That was forty years ago. He’d never left.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“He often thought about that: time. How interminable it could be, and then in a blink of an eye, years have gone by.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“Do we live to be remembered?” Don asked. “Or do we live to live?” “Is there a difference in the end?” Jerri asked.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“We were good parents," Rodney whispered in his ear. "We did our best. It wasn't good enough, but we tried.
"We did," Don agreed into his shoulder, shaking. Because that was the truth, wasn't it? They had tried their best. They had still failed, yes, but oh, had they tried.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“Don turned toward Rodney. He leaned his forehead against his husband’s. “I don’t regret a thing. Not with you, not with him. All of it, every part.” “Look at me.” Don did. In Rodney’s eyes, he could see reflected a large wave of fire. It was coming toward them. Would it hurt? Don wondered. Maybe, but only for a moment. But then, that was life, wasn’t it? “Don’t look away,” Rodney said. “Keep looking at me. There you go.” “I love you.” “Damn right you do,” Rodney said. “Don’t look away.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“And so they did. Here, at the end of their journey, at the end of the world, they did. Standing side by side, shoulders touching. Rodney held up the vial. With trembling hands, Don struggled momentarily with the cork stopper. It finally pulled free with a muted pop. Bits of ash clung to the end of the cork. “Oh, the places you’ll go,” Don whispered. “Where the wild things are,” Rodney replied.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“We were good parents,” Rodney whispered in his ear. “We did our best. It wasn’t good enough, but we tried.” “We did,” Don agreed into his shoulder, shaking. Because that was the truth, wasn’t it? They had tried their best. They had still failed, yes, but oh, had they tried.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“I love you. God knows I do. But sometimes, oh sometimes, you act like you’re the only person in the world capable of dealing with pain. You act like if you take it all in on yourself, no one else will have to deal with it. Guess what? We do. I do. It leaked from you, your poison. I could smell it. Taste it, bitter and cold. How do you think that made me feel? But you weren’t thinking of me. You said so yourself.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“I wish I could have been an animal. I always wanted to be, ever since I could remember. They’re not so different than us. Wilder, more feral, but they have minds all the same. I respect them, on their terms. I never force myself. That’s the problem with people. We insist. We call it persistence, but it’s all so selfish. All to protect our own interests.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright

“I’m not a big people person. Never really have been. Humans made art and music and dancing and books and films. People just … continually disappoint. For all the cool things that exist, there are people trying to take it all away. It’s why I like animals. A dog doesn’t give two shits if you think you’re a failure. To them, you’re their entire world. Isn’t that crazy? To us, dogs are part of our world. They come, and if we’re lucky, stick around for a good long time. And then they leave us, bereft but so thankful we had the time we did. But to dogs, we’re their entire world.”
― T.J. Klune, We Burned So Bright