Heather Havrilesky

Our addiction to fantasy and control also leads us to seek a moral for every negative outcome: He got cancer because he held on to his anger. She got rich because she persevered over adversity. He became homeless because he lost faith in his dreams. She became famous because she believed in her passions, against all odds.

our shared hallucinations and false narratives rob us of our imagination and our humanity, crush our sense of community and our connections to each other, and mute our sympathies for those who are vulnerable or oppressed, while heightening our affection for those who shamelessly oppress and harm others

We have to reject the shiny, shallow future that will never come, and locate ourselves in the current, flawed moment