--- title: "3 Adulthood Quotes By Catherynne M. Valente" description: "3 Adulthood quotes by Catherynne M. Valente. Plus more from Catherynne M. Valente and more Adulthood sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/catherynne-m-valente-375_adulthood_you-can-t-have-whatever-you-want-but-to_883552.jpg" --- > [You can't have whatever you want. But to a child who must ask permission for every single thing, adulthood looks like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-can-t-have-whatever-you-want-but-to-a-child-who-must-ask/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34e/catherynne-m-valente-375_adulthood_you-can-t-have-whatever-you-want-but-to_883552.jpg) > [“Who told you you couldn't come back when you're grown? Was it the same person who told you grown-ups don't cry or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/who-told-you-you-couldn-t-come-back-when-you-re-grown-was-it-the-same/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/928/catherynne-m-valente-375_adulthood_who-told-you-you-couldn-t-come-back-when_2652393.png) > [“But as you get older, your courage attracts gunk and crusty things and dirt and fear and knowing how bad things can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/but-as-you-get-older-your-courage-attracts-gunk-and-crusty-things-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f40/catherynne-m-valente-375_adulthood_but-as-you-get-older-your-courage-attrac_3120948.png) ## Other authors on Adulthood - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-sloane-crosley-85904.jpg) Sloane Crosley 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/sloane-crosley/) - [Alida Nugent 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/alida-nugent/) - [Mokokoma Mokhonoana 5 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-gretchen-rubin-39517.jpg) Gretchen Rubin 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/gretchen-rubin/) ## More by Catherynne M. Valente > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all just keep moving, September. We keep moving until we stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-just-keep-moving-september-we-keep-moving-until-we-stop/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You couldn't ever really fix a sad story. You could only make another. And another. And another, until you found the right one at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-couldn-t-ever-really-fix-a-sad-story-you-could-only-make-another/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“He considers it for a moment and spits out the seeds, which sprout, quickly, into tiny junkblossoms sizzling with recursive algorithms. The algorithms wriggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/he-considers-it-for-a-moment-and-spits-out-the-seeds-which-sprout/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“Truly, Mallow yearned to know everything. Curiosity was part of her, like her short blond hair and bitten fingernails.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/truly-mallow-yearned-to-know-everything-curiosity-was-part-of-her/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“The cicada lies in the earth for seventeen years. It is warm and dark there, it is soft and wet. Its little legs curl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/the-cicada-lies-in-the-earth-for-seventeen-years-it-is-warm-and-dark/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Her heart was bruised by the kiss, smashed and surprised and unsettled by it. September thought kisses were all nice, sweet things asked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/her-heart-was-bruised-by-the-kiss-smashed-and-surprised-and-unsettled/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“September put her hand on the grip of the Rivet Gun. She’d only just gotten it, and she’d promised to take copious notes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/september-put-her-hand-on-the-grip-of-the-rivet-gun-she-d-only-just/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Just tell yourself a story that'll satisfy you and pretend he told it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/just-tell-yourself-a-story-that-ll-satisfy-you-and-pretend-he-told-it/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“You see, the future is a kind of stew, a soup, a vichyssoise of the present and the past. That's how you get the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/you-see-the-future-is-a-kind-of-stew-a-soup-a-vichyssoise-of-the/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Fairy tales have always been about getting through the worst of everything, the darkest and the deepest and the bloodiest of events. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/fairy-tales-have-always-been-about-getting-through-the-worst-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“There is a place, September, oh, very far from Pandemonium. A place where it is always autumn, where there is always cider and pumpkin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/there-is-a-place-september-oh-very-far-from-pandemonium-a-place-where/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [“I was happy, the sun was high. I had enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/i-was-happy-the-sun-was-high-i-had-enough/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Who are you?" "I am Death," said the creature. "I thought that was obvious." "But you're so small!" "Only because you are small. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/who-are-you-i-am-death-said-the-creature-i-thought-that-was-obvious/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adulthood/catherynne-m-valente/#itemlist", "name": "3 Adulthood Quotes By Catherynne M. Valente", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't have whatever you want. But to a child who must ask permission for every single thing, adulthood looks like a constant parade of every desire's satisfaction. It is a heady and terrifying place. It is the Otherworld. It is Fairyland. 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