The State of Grace Quotes

“God, it’s hard work being a person sometimes.”
― Rachael Lucas, The State of Grace

“The day you stop learning, my love, is the day you stop living.”
― Rachael Lucas , The State of Grace

“Sometimes I think I’d like to retire from being a person and just quietly live under the kitchen table with a book and a packet of biscuits.”
― Rachael Lucas, The State of Grace

“And I think for a moment, because people don't actually ask that very often. They tell me what they think I feel because they've read it in books, or they say incredible things like "autistic people have no sense of humour or imagination or empathy" when I'm standing right there beside them (and one day I'm going to point out that that is more than a little bit rude, not to mention Not Even True) or they -- even worse -- talk to me like I'm about five, and can't understand.
"It's like living with all your senses turned up to full volume all the time," I say. "And it's like living life in a different language, so you can't ever quite relax because even when you think you're fluent it's still using a different part of your brain so by the end of the day you're exhausted.”
― Rachael Lucas, The State of Grace

“Friendship is a weird sort of thing when you think about it.”
― Rachael Lucas, The State of Grace

“Sometimes I think I don’t even know who my own person is.”
― Rachael Lucas, The State of Grace

“I’m the sort of person who thinks about doing things, then goes home and eats toast instead.”
― Rachael Lucas, The State of Grace

“what’s it actually like?” And I think for a moment, because people don’t actually ask that very often. They tell me what they think I feel because they’ve read it in books, or they say incredible things like autistic people have no sense of humor or imagination or empathy when I’m standing right there beside them (and one day I’m going to point out that that is more than a little bit rude, not to mention Not Even True) or they—even worse—talk to me like I’m about five and can’t understand. “It’s like living with all your senses turned up to full volume all the time,” I say. And I stop and he sort of spins around so he is looking at me. “And it’s like living life in a different language, so you can’t ever quite relax because even when you think you’re fluent it’s still using a different part of your brain so by the end of the day you’re exhausted.” And I think about getting home from school and the effort of making it through the noise and the lights and the people and the change and the cars and the smells and the sun and the rain and holding it together through all that, and then getting home. And how when I get home and I can switch off, that’s when I blow up, because it’s safe.”
― Rachael Lucas, The State of Grace

“that. And another part of me is angry because life is so complicated and nobody tells you anything and there’s so much of being human that’s about unspoken stuff”
― Rachael Lucas, The State of Grace

“And I reach out, because for a moment it feels as if maybe everyone else doesn’t know the rules all that well, either, and I watch as my fingers lace between his, and I lean forward this time, and I kiss Gabe Kowalski. And this time I don’t think about anything.”
― Rachael Lucas, The State of Grace