What I Carry Quotes

“Home is just a soft place to land in between adventures, or trouble, or what the hell ever. It’s a harbor, not an anchor. Be brave, see the world, every forest and mountain, and know you always have a safe place to rest and come back to.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“Adopted is not an adjective,” he said. “Joellen says that. It’s an event that happens, not who you are. As an adjective it implies inherent bullshit about a person that isn’t true. A person is not ‘adopted.’ They were adopted. Words matter.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“Not being perfect is for people who have families; you can screw up and they still keep you.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“Don't ever not get angry. You've got every right. No reason to hold on to it forever of course, just always give anger it's due. Let it show sometimes. Respect it.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“Memory is a fascinating thing. Months and years can pass, uneventful and lost, but then certain tiny moments, pieces of conversation or feelings within the thousands of blank days stay sharp, clear like yesterday.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“The entire fucking point of being born is that someone is supposed to take care of you.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“It's not like I'm dead inside. It's that I'm allergic to manufactured, insincere emotion. A lifetime of people saying one thing but doing the opposite has inoculated me, and now I understand how to survive with my freedom and sanity intact until I'm eighteen.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“As far as I could tell, this movie was about parents who had two cute children they were determined to spend as little time with as possible. And so they hire a woman who constantly gaslights the kids and makes them doubt their own sanity; she takes them on fantastical trips, then says they never happened. She gives them the powers of flight and time travel, encourages them to surrender to the magic and enjoy themselves, then acts all affronted and accuses them of lying when they mention how fun the adventure was. The whole movie seemed to be introducing the concept of what a nanny was and, at the same time, arguing against ever employing one.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“Human decency is thicker than blood.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“Memory, as a substance, is definitely water. It either evaporates completely, or it gets soaked into the brain sponge until the sponge gets squeezed by some unexpected something, and then the water spills everywhere.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“Hard work fixes shit all the time.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry

“People can be wonderful.”
― Jennifer Longo, What I Carry