Challenger Deep

Dead kids are put on pedestals, but mentally ill kids get hidden under the rug.

They say they understand, but the only people who really understand are the ones who’ve been to That Place, too. It’s like a man telling a woman he knows what it feels like to give birth.”

I used to be afraid of dying. Now I’m afraid of not living. There’s a difference. We go through life planning for a future, but sometimes that future never comes. I’m talking about personal futures. Mine, to be specific

So what happens when your universe begins to get off balance, and you don’t have any experience with bringing it back to center? All you can do is fight a losing battle, waiting for those walls to collapse, and your life to become one huge mystery ashtray.

I still can’t figure out if it’s bravery or cowardice to take your own life. I can’t figure out whether it’s being selfish, or selfless. Is it the ultimate act of letting go of oneself, or a cheap act of self-possession? People say a failed attempt is a cry for help.

n the end, the measure of who we are can be seen in the shapes of our balloon animals.

I marveled that people could live so close—that you could literally be surround by thousands who were only inches away—and yet be completely isolated.

I see the future in the stars that ride the horizon. Not just one future but all possible futures at once, and I don’t know which one is true. It’s a curse to see all that might happen but never know what will.”

You’ll find in life, Caden, that many decisions are made by morons in high places.”

I ache, but I am not broken.