For the way loneliness is worse when you return to it after a reprieve—like the soul’s version of putting on a wet bathing suit, clammy and miserable.
Interpretation
Loneliness feels more intense after experiencing a brief period of connection or relief.
This quote conveys the idea that loneliness can be particularly painful after experiencing moments of joy or companionship. The analogy of returning to a wet bathing suit emphasizes how uncomfortable and abrupt the transition can be, highlighting the stark contrast between feelings of connection and the discomfort of solitude.
In practice
In a speech about mental health awareness, one might reference this quote to emphasize the struggle individuals face when dealing with loneliness.
It’s like losing gravity and falling into space – the moment of pitching headlong when the endlessness of space asserts itself and there is no more down, only an eternity of up, and you realize you can fall forever and never run out of stars.
Kizzy wanted it all so bad her soul leaned half out of her body hungering after it, and that was what drove the goblins wild, her soul hanging out there like an untucked shirt.
Never sit staring at a blank page or screen. If you find yourself stuck, write. Write about the scene you're trying to write. Writing about is easier than writing, and chances are, it will give you your way in.
When I turned to writing fantasy, and writing for young people, it was joyous. It was like discovering an underground lake of ideas that went on forever.
Dialogue is the place that books are most alive and forge the most direct connection with readers. It is also where we as writers discover our characters and allow them to become real.
Happiness. It was the place where passion, with all its dazzle and drumbeat, met something softer: homecoming and safety and pure sunbeam comfort. It was all those things, intertwined with the heat and the thrill, and it was as bright within her as a swallowed star.
We reaffirm that on days like this, there are no Republicans or Democrats. We are Americans, united in concern for our fellow citizens.
An archaeologist is the best husband a woman can have. The older she gets the more interested he is in her.
I don't believe in marriage. It's bloody impractical. 'To love, honor, and obey.' If it weren't, you wouldn't have to sign a contract.
Pleasantest of all ties is the tie of host and guest.
Make no mistake: conversion therapy is not about 'praying away the gay.' It's an emotional torture against our most innocent citizens: our children.
It's always the case that the minority has to navigate two different worlds. Women have to know how to live in a man's world. Gay people have to know how to live in a straight world. Black people gotta know how to live in a predominantly white world.
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