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“...I realized that the words most often used to define us were words that described our function in relation to others. Even the most benign words- maiden, wife, mother - told the world whether we were virgins or not. What was the male equivalent of maiden? I could not think of it. What was the male equivalent of Mrs., of whore, of common scold?... Which words would define me? Which would be used to judge or contain?”
― Pip Williams, The Dictionary of Lost Words

“Words define us, they explain us, and, on occasion, they serve to control or isolate us.”
― Pip Williams, The Dictionary of Lost Words

“It doesn’t hurt so much to lose out on things if you never hoped for them in the first place. What really hurts is having things right there in front of you, and wanting them, and not being able to reach them.”
― Natsu Miyashita, The Forest of Wool and Steel

“I tell ya, the live ones put more death in the place than the dying. In the time I was there. I watched my grandma try to tell the same story three times to two nurses and one doctor and she was told to stop talking each time. She'd barely get two sentences out before they'd shush her. She's dying. Silence won't save her, let her talk.”
― Ani Baker, Handsome Vanilla