Comfort Quotes

from As long as the lemon trees grow

Reading has been a comfort to me for years. The characters, the world the writer paints serve as escapism. But many times the world I escape only pushes me head first into reality. The beautiful thing is books don’t abandon me when they force me to confront my fears, to deal with the complexities of my situation. Like a precious gift from the writer, I find soothing words sprinkled over the pages.

I’m currently reading As long as the lemon trees grow by Zoulfa Katouh and here are some of my favourite quotes I find comforting:

“There are enough people hurting you,” he whispers. “Don’t be one of them.”

“I want you to hold on to that. No matter what happens, you remember that this world is more than the agony it contains. We can have happiness, Salama. Maybe it doesn’t come in a cookie-cutter format, but we will take the fragments and we will rebuild it.”

“Promise me you’ll look for the joy.”

“It doesn’t hurt for you to think about your future. We don’t have to stop living because we might die.”

“Don’t focus on the darkness and sadness,” she says, and I glance up at her. She smiles warmly. “If you do, you won’t see the light even if it’s staring you in the face.”

“If you’re drained and in pain, you won’t be able to help anyone.