"My shower doesn't make everything go away. The world doesn't feel like a bigger, brighter place because my hair smells like coconuts."
- Jolene Perry
"Do you feel safe there?"Immediately tears come down my face. "Yes.""Why does that make you cry?"
"Something like another wave of despair crashes into me. "I'm so heavy." I blink and a tear slides down my cheek."Then you lean on us for a while. Let us carry you, Joy, until you're not heavy anymore...."
"And it's true what I read about joy. It's the kind of happiness that not only fills you up but spills over. Really, all you have to do is look for it, and then have the strength to let it in. And beli..."
"How do I tell her that all I want to do is roll around on my bed?"
"When you have a hard day or when I see you slipping backward, I'm desperate to stop it, to make you see how amazing you are, to help you know that you have so much to look forward to. The things that ..."
"He taught me to fight, to defend myself, to stand up for what I believe in, and protect people I love. I thanked him for that lesson after that weekend in New Orleans when some guy put his hands on De..."
"My heart's cracking apart all over again because of the way I've missed him."
"A thin, polished woman walks in. She sticks out immediately in her expensive looking navy dress, shiny bag and shoes that probably cost more than I make in a month. My breath leaves me when I see that..."
"People don't want the truth when they ask how you're doing after you lost your brother."