The Boardwalk Bookshop Quotes

“The person you love is supposed to be the one place where you can relax. Where you can completely be yourself without being judged or pressured. Loving someone, committing to someone, means giving them a break, taking care of them more than they take care of you because if both people are doing that, then it’s marriage at its best.”
― Susan Mallery, The Boardwalk Bookshop

“She wasn’t a hugger by nature—something she’d had to deal with since meeting Mikki, who hugged nearly as much as she breathed. She braced herself for impact and stepped close.”
― Susan Mallery, The Boardwalk Bookshop

“Marriage is more than a tradition. It’s an economic necessity. In societies where there are more married couples, there are fewer children in poverty, and less violence.”
― Susan Mallery, The Boardwalk Bookshop

“If you’re feeling anything but levelheaded, don’t do something that can’t be undone.”
― Susan Mallery, The Boardwalk Bookshop

“For me, grief is alive. She’s a cold, unforgiving bitch who lurks in the shadows. When I’m tired or stressed, she’s always ready to pounce, to make me feel weak and incapable. Sometimes she frightens me with how big she is, but with help, I’m learning to beat her back, and now when she attacks, she’s a little smaller than the last time. Healing is a choice. I made the decision to heal. It wasn’t easy or pleasant or anything I wanted to do but the alternative was to continue to live in pain and I just couldn’t do that anymore. The pain sucks me dry and I was at risk of shriveling up and blowing away. So every morning I decide to be a little bit better. Sure, there are days I screw up completely, but then I start again. I initiated a hug with a friend. No big deal for most people, but for me it was an act of courage. Tiny steps add up. At least that’s the plan.”
― Susan Mallery, The Boardwalk Bookshop

“Grief is natural, but when left alone it grows into something bigger. Something that steals hope. You shut down and no one gets in. The walls get bigger.”
― Susan Mallery, The Boardwalk Bookshop

“Some cities in Europe are using every available bit of space to create native gardens meant to feed bees, roadsides and medians, on top of bus stops.” She sighed. “I wish we’d do something like that here. We have plenty of unused corners of land to help bees.”
― Susan Mallery, The Boardwalk Bookshop

“I didn’t know about foster kids aging out of the system. There should be a better plan than simply tossing a foster child out when they turn eighteen, even if they’re not done with high school.”
― Susan Mallery, The Boardwalk Bookshop

“Less than four percent of foster kids graduate with a college degree, compared to 46 percent in the general population. And don’t get me started on the number of young women who end up pregnant by age twenty-one.”
― Susan Mallery, The Boardwalk Bookshop

“For many of them, turning eighteen meant aging out of the foster-care system. They could find themselves with nowhere to live and no support system.”
― Susan Mallery, The Boardwalk Bookshop