Emily Giffin

A theme in a lot of my books - and in my own life - is making choices that you feel you should make, or what society wants you to make, as opposed to what is truly right for you.

Life's not black-and-white. Sometimes the ends justifies the means.

I have always been drawn to coming-of-age stories and books and movies featuring compelling young characters.

Writing a teen character is something I wanted to try again for a long time!

Songs and smells will bring you back to a moment in time more than anything else. It's amazing how much can be conjured with a few notes of a song or a solitary whiff of a room. A song you didn't even pay attention to at the time, a place that you didn't even know had a particular smell. I wonder what will someday bring back Dex and our few months together. Maybe the sound of Dido's voice. Maybe the scent of the Aveda shampoo I've been using all summer.

Love and friendship. They are what make us who we are, and what can change us, if we let them.

Would they retreat or move forward? Could they do this thing they were on the verge of doing? Did they have it in them to make a wrong decision just because it felt right?

No, scratch the word "career." Careers are for people who wish to advance. I only want to survive, draw a paycheck.

We both have a lot of growing-up to do... A lot of the world to see & figure out on our own." -- Leo

I think of how life takes unexpected twists and turns, sometimes through sheer happenstance, sometimes through calculated decisions. In the end, it can all be called fate, but to me, it is more a matter of faith.

Someday being with Dex will be a distant memory. This fact makes me sad too. Its the initial stages of grief that seem to be worst but in some ways, Its sadder as time goes by and you consider how much they're missed in your life.

desperately wanting to define what's in the air between us but unwilling to make the first move

I looked at my friend, overwhelmed with confusion. Unsure of what April should do. What I should do. What a strong woman would do. In fact, the only thing that I am certain of is that there are no easy answers, and that anyone who says there are has never been in our shoes.

His loyalty, so fierce and unwavering, makes my eyes water and heart ache.

But I have learned that you make your own happiness, that part of going for what you want means losing something else. And when the stakes are high, the losses can be that much greater.

Change can be good but its always tough to let go of the past

You can't quantify love, and if you try, you can wind up focusing on misleading factors. Stuff that has really has more to do with personality- the fact that some people are simply more expressive or emotional or needy in a relationship. But beyond such smokescreens, the answer is there. Love is seldom- almost never -even proposition. Someone always loves more.

Why is a Christmas tree better than a man? Because it stays up, has cute balls, and looks good with the lights on!