Susin Nielsen > Quotes

“...studies show that in general, optimists die ten years earlier than pessimists."
"I find that hard to believe"
"Of course you do, you're an optimist. You have a misguided belief that things will go your way. You don't see the dangers till it's too late. Pessimists are more realistic.
"That seems like a sad way to govern your life."
"It's a safe way to govern your life.”
― Susin Nielsen, Optimists Die First

“I don't think it's gross. I think it's kind of beautiful. Everything, and everyone, is interconnected.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“Okay, even if we disagree on that point, we still need to keep living our lives, don't we?...”
― Susin Nielsen, Optimists Die First

“They did not have problems. They had been perfectly, utterly happy.
Hadn't they?”
― Susin Nielsen, Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom

“Either they were stupid, or they were optimists. Most likely both. "I will outlive you all," I muttered under my breath.”
― Susin Nielsen, Optimists Die First

“Different people are smart in different ways.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“Molecules are made of atoms. When someone dies, their molecules break down into smaller molecules as well as individual atoms. So, say a carbon atom is part of a molecule in a person's leg. When that person dies, that atom could become part of a molecule in something else, like a blooming flower, or even another human being. Or an oxygen atom in your sandwich could end up in a molecule as part of your brain.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“ut I”
― Susin Nielsen, Word Nerd

“Everything, and everyone, is interconnected.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“Part of me wanted to fling myself on the bed and hold him. Part of me wanted to fling myself on the bed and pummel him.”
― Susin Nielsen, Optimists Die First

“The word pass has become all the rage, hasn’t it? It’s like people don’t want to think about death at all, so they won’t even say the word.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“I think the most important lesson I’ve learned about being a writer is that a real writer keeps writing. We keep moving forward. We don’t sit around waiting for “the muse.” It’s a job like any other, trying to get the entire story on the page. It’s about getting our bums in the seat, every day.”
― Susin Nielsen

“If I am one hundred percent totally honest, I sometimes long for the olden days, when we were all just little dorks. Things are so much more complicated now.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“How could I explain to someone who hasn’t been a teenager for centuries that best friends are the ones who are most likely to use your darkest secrets against you one day, and stab you right in the back?”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“She told my parents I was gifted. My parents shared what she’d said, and I got very excited for a moment because I honestly thought being gifted involved getting gifts.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“A part of us will always be sad, and that we will have to learn to live with it.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“Because being gifted can also mean that you excel in some areas while you stink in others.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“But it is an interesting biological conundrum when one organ – in this case, my brain – tells me one thing, and another organ – in this case, my heart – tells me another.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“For a long time he was Sad Dad twenty-four-seven, and I was Sad Stewart twenty-four-seven, and together we were Sad Squared, and it was just a big black hole of sadness.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“I wasn't just happy; I was over the moon.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“I get why Winnie believes in God. I get why Dylan believes in Bernard. I get why I wanted to believe in Mel. It can give a person comfort, feeling that something mysterious and otherworldly is looking out for you.
But now I'm learning to have faith in something new ... Other people... And I am choosing to believe.”
― Susin Nielsen, No Fixed Address

“I don’t think it’s weird to want to stay connected to my mom in any way I can. A lot of her molecules were floating around our old house, so I always felt connected to her there. But then we moved here, and I had to use a specific object to breathe in her molecules”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“I took a deep breath. I thought of my mom. I reminded myself that I was doing this for her.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“We’re bringing a lot of stuff with us, but we can’t bring the mosaic stepping-stones my mom made that line the path in the backyard, or the flowers she planted, or her molecules, which I know still float through the air, because why else can I feel her presence all the time? It is what less scientifically minded people would call a “vibe,” and our house, even this long after her death, is still full to bursting with Mom’s vibe.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“If your friends have a problem with it, then they're clearly not your friends.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“And I just remember her. It's kind of like I'm collecting a bit of her soul.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“I realized I was feeling something I don't feel very often, and that is anger. I don't like feeling anger, I avoid it at all costs.”
― Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made of Molecules

“And, no, I haven't published anything yet. But i try to tell myself that my personal suffering will make me a better writer. Tortured artist and all that.”
― Susin Nielsen, Tremendous Things

“My little life is a blib in the history of the world.”
― Susin Nielsen, Tremendous Things