Ann Brashares Quotes

As a young child, I was never a crier. I never cried to get my way, or even when I was in pain.

It is not good to see people who have been pretending strength all their lives lose it even for a minute.

I'm not going to whine or get depressed. Who's going to feel sorry for me? Nobody.

People make me out to be this super strong woman, but I have my tough days just like anyone else.

The way I look at it, I'm more of a man because I'm in touch with my emotions. I think people that deny their emotions are pretty weak individuals, if you want my honest opinion.

Intensity makes you stronger. Emotionalism makes you weaker.

Deformed persons commonly take revenge on nature.

Lord, may the pain be ours, And the weakness that it brings, But at least give us the strength, Of not showing it to anyone!

In my personal life I wasn't someone who cried easily, someone who was extremely vulnerable, you know, in that way that's constantly seeking out affirmation from other people. I've always been much more the person who took care of everyone else.

It's not a bad thing, is it, to be strong in some ways and fragile and vulnerable in others?

... a warrior could not avoid pain and grief but only the indulging in them

We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, "Oh, nothing!" Pride helps; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our hurts— not to hurt others.

It takes strength to show vulnerability.

But Christina and I are not people who cry together; we're people who fight together. SO I hold my tears in.

My mother never let on that anything was wrong. She kept her chin up and acted as if everything were just fine. So we did too.

I don't want to cry. Everyone will make note of my tears and I'll be marked as an easy target. A weakling. I will give no one that satisfaction.

Liking someone doesn't make you weak.

Keep a stiff upper chin.

You be greater than your feelings. I don't demand this of you - life does. Otherwise you'll be washed away by feelings. You'll be washed out to sea and never seen again.

Your life's short, don't ever question the length / It's cool to cry, don't ever question your strength.

As a young man, I yearned for the day when, rooted in the experience that comes only with age, I could do my work fearlessly. But today, in my mid-sixties, I realize that I will feel fear from time to time for the rest of my life. I may never get rid of my fear. But . . . I can learn to walk into it and through it whenever it rises up . . . naming the inner force that triggers . . . fear . . . Naming our fears aloud . . . is the first step toward transcending them.

Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional. Our only choice is a question of engagement. Our willingness to own and engage with our vulnerability determines the depth of our courage and the clarity of our purpose; the level to which we protect ourselves from being vulnerable is a measure of our fear and disconnection.

Nothing happens to any man which he is not formed by nature to bear. The same things happen to another, and either because he does not see that they have happened or because he would show a great spirit he is firm and remains unharmed. It is a shame then that ignorance and conceit should be stronger than wisdom.

But if I must be alone, I refuse to be alone as if it were something weak and distasteful, like convalescence.