There are several ways to react to being lost. One is to panic: this was usually Valentina's first impulse. Another is to abandon yourself to lostness, to allow the fact that you've misplaced yourself to change the way you experience the world.

Mama said, "Dreams are different to real life but important too."

I don't want to boss anyone and I don't want to be bossed.

That's what alcoholics do. It's in their job description: fall apart and then keep falling apart.

We are often insane with happiness. We are also very unhappy for reasons neither of us can do anything about. Like being separated.

...all of our laments could not add a single second to her life, not one additional beat of the heart, nor a breath.

Each spine was an encapsulated memory, each book represented hours, days of pleasure, of immersion into words.