Quotes by A. Walsh

“I think I was about five or six?” I offered, struggling to hold the memory in place. “It was before we went into care for those six months. And I’d scored the winning goal in a match.” “A hurling match?” I nodded. “He was so fucking excited about it that he picked me up and threw me in the air.” I rubbed my jaw and blew out a pained breath at the memory. “Took me to the shop afterward and bought me a pound’s worth of penny jellies.” Frowning, I said, “I remember thinking, ‘If I can keep winning, it’ll keep him happy, and he’ll stop hitting my mother.’” Shrugging, I added, “So, I kept winning.” “Did it work?” I gave her a hard look. “What do you think?””

“Psssh. So did I.” She waved a hand around aimlessly. “And I did it in epic fashion.” “You went to Tommen?” “I was transplanted there,” she replied with a smirk. “Same as you.” “I didn’t know that.” “There’s a lot you don’t know, Joey love.” Smirking, she patted my cheek once more before turning her attention back to her stew. “A lot.””

“Ask the average American Christian to tell you how his life would be different if he didn’t believe in Christ, and he will struggle to provide a single example. And this fact will not trouble him. He is supremely confident in his own spiritual complacency. He laughs at the very notion that God might send him to Hell. He has no problem believing that some people are damned”

“How long before the parts of my body realized, independently, that something was wrong and arrived, severally, at panic? Panic is a still thing. I have felt it before: each limb nerve organ coming into extreme alert unrelated to any other, ready for action, but who knows what action, as there is no action that could help here.””

“She supposed that’s what grace was”

“Be still, and know that I am God. I know I sometimes do. Countless times I’ve sat down to try to be still and holy. It’s never worked very well. Only recently when I was studying this passage did I realize my misunderstanding of the text: the original Hebrew root of Be still doesn’t mean “be quiet”; it means “let go.” That’s very different, don’t you think? Let go and know that I am God! Let go of trying to control your spouse! Let go of your worry about your finances! Let go of your unforgiveness! Let go of your past! Let go of what you can’t control”

“How to get and keep men interested in you (A Guide for the Modern Woman): Put them in the “friend” or “fuck” zone. Leave them there.””

“Our friend is in love with a class-A idiot.””

“My arms are empty without you!My heart cries out, lonely in the darkness, but you are not here.No tears shall bring you back into my arms again.My mothers love was not strong enough to keep you,but it is strong enough to follow and find you, though all the mists of Eternity should try to come between!””