Shout Quotes

“too many grown-ups tell kids to follow their dreams
like that's going to get them somewhere
Auntie Laurie says follow your nightmares instead
cuz when you figure out what's eating you alive
you can slay it”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“We should teach our girls that snapping is ok, instead of waiting for someone else to break them.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Censorship is the child of fear
the father of ignorance
and the desperate weapon of fascists everywhere.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Shame, turned inside out, is rage.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“the only thing that helped me breathe was opening a book”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Eve ate the apple
because Adam
was afraid”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“the false innocence
you render for them
by censoring truth
protects only you”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“This note about anatomy
from me to you
is for the remembering that
after you speak
after you shout
your open mouth
will breathe in the light
for which you've hungered
and your backbone will unfurl,
until you can again dance to the beat
of your steadfast heart.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“This is the story of a girl who lost her voice and wrote herself a new one.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“This is not a resting bitch face This is a touch-me-and-die face”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“I was in a race to see if I would die from the outside in or the inside out.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“I wanted a coffin made of wood
from trees not yet planted
my appetite for time was growing.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Trying to figure out what you want to do, who you want to be, is messy as hell; the best anyone can hope for is to figure out the next step.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Too many grown ups tell kids to follow their dreams, like that's going to get them somewhere. Auntie Laurie says follow your nightmares instead. Because when you figure out what's eating you alive, you can slay it.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“untreated pain
is a cancer of the soul
that can kill you”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“The taste of shame smells
like stubborn vomit in your hair
lingering no matter how often you was it
sometimes you have to shave
yourself bald
and start again like a newly hatched chick
leaving the faint rot of broken magic
in shattered eggshell pieces
behind you.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Take your age the first time a stranger touched
your body with danger in his hands,
evil-minded...

But it's not usually a stranger, is it<”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Rape wounds deeply, splits open
your core with shrapnel.
The stench of the injury attracts maggots
which hatch into clouds of doubt and self-loathing
the dirt you feel inside you nourishes
anxiety, depression, and shame
poisoning your blood, festering
in your brain until you will do anything to stop
feeling the darkness rising within
anything
to stop feeling–

untreated pain
is a cancer of the soul
that can kill you”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Pain won't be contained
by bars or marks
your scars deserve attention, too.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“When one suffers, all are weakened, but when everyone thrives, we dance.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“The false innocence
you render for them
by censoring truth
protects only you.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“She snapped," they said.
"Couldn't take it anymore."
"Reached her breaking point."
We should teach our girls that snapping is okay instead of waiting for someone else to break them.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“But I had never seen a first aid kit for the spirit...”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“stories entertain
engage, outrage
uplift, help us
overcome
our troubles
. . .
stories activate, motivate,
celebrate, cerebrate,
snare our fates
and share our great
incarnations of hope”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Defense lawyer did his job
by attacking the victim
shouting that she drank, she danced,
she dressed to look good
she wanted it, she followed him
liked it rough
or planned on marriage or extortion
as she cried on the stand, long blonde hair
in front of her face, a curtain for her sanity,
he painted her into a corner with accusations”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Sisters, drop
everything. Walk
away from the lake, leaning
on each other's shoulders
when you need
the support. Feel the contradictions
of another truth ready
to be born: shame
turned inside out
is rage.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“translates as “cozy” but is much, much more; hygge is sitting on a dark winter’s night with friends or family, the room candlelit, everyone knitting or crocheting sipping coffee or beer, eating pastry or smørrebrød talking, talking, listening, talking, enjoying the pleasure of kindred spirits with the winds howling outside”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Don't get killed. Don't get robbed. Don't get billed for jobs that were abandoned. Don't let your house burn or your pipes burst or your children curse. Don't let your purse get stolen. Don't get trapped underwater. Don't get food poisoning or the flu. For God's sake get vaccinated. Don't get cancer. Seriously. Do. Not. Get. Cancer. Don't get t-boned by a drunk. Don't get struck by lightning. Don't get allergies. Don't get depressed. Don't get noticed by the IRS. Don't get catfished or gaslit. Don't get ghosted by an ex. Don't get talked into a bigger car. Don't get bit by a rabid dog. Don't get your boo angry. Don't get cheated on. Don't get called out, dragged, tagged in pics you don't remember.

Don't get raped

cause the jack asses and idiots will say that's your fault, too.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“I'm sorry you didn't get the help you needed.
You deserved a soft afghan wrapped around you,
People to hold your hands while you learned to walk again,
So stand with us now.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout

“Sisters of the torn shirts.
Sisters of the chase around the desk, casting couch, hotel room, file cabinet.
Sisters dragging shattered dreams, bruised hopes, ambitions abandoned in the dirt.
Sisters fishing one by one in the lake of shame.
Hooks baited with fear always come back empty.
Truth dawns slow when you've been beaten and lied to, but it burns hard and bright once it wakes.
Sisters, drop everything.
Walk away from the lake, leaning on each other's shoulders when you need the support.
Feel the contractions of another truth ready to be born.
Shame turned inside out is rage.”
― Laurie Halse Anderson, Shout