The Unexpected Joy of Being Single Quotes

“I've now learned that when you share the darkest parts of your life, and find that thousands of people say 'Me too', it transmutes those black memories into spun gold. Sharing is like alchemy.”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“I learn that we become our thoughts, which is why it’s so important to believe in a friendly, rather than a hostile universe.”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“We’re living both in the shadow of Baby Boomer expectations, and free from the pressures they experienced.”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“On playing games in relationships "You're not a performing seal. If you need to perform tricks to keep his/her attention, you never really had it to begin with. Imagine how exhausting that would be long term. You're starting an intimate, supportive relationship, not joining the circus”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“we’re held up by the scaffolding of the stories we tell ourselves. Without that scaffolding, we feel insecure, wobbly, like we’re a building that’s about to rumble to the ground.”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“We’re sheep, psychologically. It’s an almost irresistible, invisible undertow.”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“Ever loved someone so much, you would do anything for them? Yeah, well, make that someone yourself and do whatever the hell you want.’ – HARVEY SPECTER, SUITS”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“South Korean universities are now running ‘Marriage and Family’ courses in which it’s mandatory for students to date three classmates, for a whole month, each. (It’s unclear whether they get to choose who they date for four weeks.)”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“Now, I remember that given female life expectancy is 83 for women and 79 for men, even if it takes until age 50 to meet him (or her, if I switch sides, never say never), I will still have 29 l-o-n-g years with that guy (if we are the same age and he dies right on schedule). 29 years! I mean. The longest relationship I’ve ever managed thus far was three years, and it was hard to even keep that alit, so that 29-year hypothetical relationship is going to be a humdinger of a challenge. I can wait. Is fine.”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“The act of transforming something brittle into something beautiful really appeals to me.”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“I don’t know yet, but that is the hallmark of addiction, that flashing neon sign in your brain that blinks and fizzes and demands MORE. That moves further away, every time you inch towards it. That you’re always trying to reach, and never successfully get to. It’s an ever-moving destination.”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“You're not a performing seal. If you need to perform tricks to keep his/her attention, you never really had it to begin with. Imagine how exhausting that would be long term. You're starting an intimate, supportive relationship, not joining the circus”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“we're single because we can be. That pathway of choice has only recently been blasted wide open, particularly for women.”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single

“at some point, we all have to learn how to walk into a party or a restaurant alone. Otherwise, we will be willing to walk in with ANYBODY (or worse, walk out with anybody).”
― Catherine Gray, The Unexpected Joy of Being Single