“The whole world seemed to be quiet and calm and I wanted to be the world and feel like that.” — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Peace Copy Share Image
“I decided that maybe we left each other alone too much. Leaving each other alone was killing us.” — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Leaving Copy Share Image
“I had a feeling there was something wrong with me. I guess I was a mystery even to myself.” — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Copy Share Image
“Your smile is back.' That's what Dante said. 'Smiles are like that. They come and go.” — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Smile Copy Share Image
“People who have monsters recognize each other. They know each other without even saying a word.” — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Monsters Copy Share Image
“I didn't know what to do with that piece of information. So I just kept it inside. That's what I did with… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Data Copy Share Image
“And being alone made me want to talk to someone my own age. Someone who understood that using the "f" word wasn't… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Talk Copy Share Image
“Anger is an emotion. But there’s always something behind anger. Something stronger. You know what that is?” “Is that a trick question?”… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Anger Copy Share Image
“Everyone was always becoming someone else. Sometimes, when you were older, you became someone younger. And me, I felt old. How can… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Changing Copy Share Image
“Words could be like food - they felt like something in your mouth. They tasted like something. Words were not things you… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Language Copy Share Image
“had a theory that everyone has a relationship with words—whether they know it or not. It’s just that everybody’s relationship with words… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Language Copy Share Image
“I kind of liked his voice. He sounded like he had a cold, you know, like he was about to lose his… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Voice Sounded Copy Share Image
“Do you think it will always be this way?” “What?” “I mean, when do we start feeling like the world belongs to… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Life and living Copy Share Image
“Even though summers were mostly made of sun and heat, summers for me were about the storms that came and went. And… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Feeling alone Copy Share Image
“I looked out the window at the black clouds ahead of us. I opened the back window and smelled the rain. You… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Black clouds Copy Share Image
“I'd never really been very close to other people. I was pretty much a loner. I'd played baseball and done the Cub… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Boy scout Copy Share Image
“All this time. This was what was wrong with me. All this time I had been trying to figure out the secrets… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Dante Copy Share Image
“And every time I did spectacularly well in my classes, and I'm here to tell you that I did spectacularly well, I… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Professors Copy Share Image
“But the thing is that I’m in love with Rafael’s story. I think I understand when Adam says that all our stories… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Love Copy Share Image
“He got out of the car. He stood out in the heat. I knew he was trying to organize himself. Like a… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Being alone quotes Copy Share Image
“You are smart, Ari. Very smart. And anyway, being smart isn't everything. People just make fun of you. My dad says it's… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Sadness Copy Share Image
“I found myself whispering, "Do you think we'll ever discover all the secrets of the universe?" I was surprised to hear Susie's… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Question Beautiful Copy Share Image
“And then everyone in the room started laughing. My dad and my uncles and aunts - if there's one thing they knew… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Beautiful writing Copy Share Image
“Life was like that- there would always be something scratching at the door. And whatever was scratching would just scratch and scratch… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Door Copy Share Image
“Dogs don't censor themselves. Maybe animals were smarter than people. The dog was so happy. My mom and dad too. It felt… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Dog Copy Share Image
“I don't like remembering. Remembering makes me feel things. I don't like to feel things. I'm thinking I could spend the rest… — Benjamin Alire Saenz Forgetting Copy Share Image
Why do we smile? Why do we laugh? Why do we feel alone? Why are we sad and confused? Why do we… — Benjamin Alire Saenz Confused Copy Share Image
“I was harder than Dante. I think I'd tried to hide that hardness from him because I'd wanted him to like me.… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Harder Copy Share Image
“In the distance, I can see a storm coming in, the dark clouds and the lightning on the horizon moving towards me.… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Dark clouds Copy Share Image
“See, I think there are roads that lead us to each other. But in my family, there were no roads - just… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Connections Copy Share Image
“But the thing is, I didn't make my friends happy and they didn't make me happy. All we did was get stoned… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Drugs Copy Share Image
“The day he came home from the hospital, he cried. I held him. I thought he would never stop. I knew that… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Cried Copy Share Image
“I wondered what it was like to feel whole, to not feel torn up or stunned out or wigged out or any… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Around the world Copy Share Image
“Listen, the road to happiness is a long fucking road trip. You can't take The freeway. Back roads, buddy, that's all you… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Bad weather Copy Share Image
“This is my theory: the people who shouldn't hate themselves, do hate themselves. And the people who should hate themselves, don't hate… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Friendship Copy Share Image
“I wondered what it would be like, to love a girl, to know how a girl thinks, to see the world through… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Girls Copy Share Image
“Sometimes I think my father has all these scars. On his heart. In his head. All over. It’s not such an easy… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Father Copy Share Image
“I didn't understand how you could live in a mean world and not have any of that meanness rub off on you.… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Mean world Copy Share Image
“I mean, when do we start feeling like the world belongs to us? I wanted to tell him that the world would… — Benjamin Alire Sáenz Tomorrow Copy Share Image
We have this huge discourse on family in this country, but no one deconstructs it the same way. People talk about "the… — Benjamin Alire Saenz American family Copy Share Image
