When you're walking home at night, do you even get creeped out and even though it's silly and embarrassing you just want to run home?" It seemed too secret and personal to admit to virtual stranger, but I told her, "Yeah, totally." For a moment, she was quiet. Then she grabbed my hand, whispered, "Run run run run run," and took off, pulling me behind her.
John GreenThat's what I realized: if I did get her back somehow, she wouldn't fill the hole that losing her created.
John GreenIt was psychological trick called empathic listening. You say what the person is feeling so they feel understood.
John GreenWe left. We did not say: Don't drive, You're drunk. We did not say: We aren't letting you in that car when you are upset. We did not say: We insist on going with you. We did not say: This can wait until tomorrow. Anything-everything-can wait.
John GreenHazel has to realize that her mom was wrong when she said, โI wonโt be a mother anymore.โ The truth is, after Hazel dies (assuming she dies), her mom will still be her mom, just as my grandmother is still my grandmother even though she has died. As long as either person is still alive, that relationship survives. (It changes, but it survives.)
John Green