“Loneliness, she thought, was craving for other people's company. But she did not know that loneliness can be an unnoticed cramping of the spirit for lack of companionship.” Doris Lessing (1919–2013) British novelist, poet, playwright, librettist, biographer and short story writer Source: The Grass is Singing
“A certain cynicism, born of the life she has led; a streak of strange wisdom; the wistfulness behind the gaiety; sometimes fear; and nearly always the memory of loneliness that hurts the soul.” Georgette Heyer book These Old Shades Source: These Old Shades
“Athena's great problem was that she was a woman of the twenty-second century living in the twenty-first, and making no secret of the fact, either. Did she pay a price? She certainly did. But she would have paid a still higher price if she had repressed her natural exuberance. She would have been bitter, frustrated, always concerned about "what other people might think," always saying, "I'll just sort these things out, then I'll devote myself to my dream," always complaining "that the conditions are never quite right."” Paulo Coelho book The Witch of Portobello Deidre O'Neill, known as Edda, p. 11. The Witch of Portobello (2007)
“She had always maintained a cynical facade, using it as a defence against embarrassment, fear, loneliness… but at the moment she felt unusually vulnerable.” Lisa Kleypas (1964) American writer Source: It Happened One Autumn
“Maybe all of her strangeness, her curse, her always feeling like an outsider, had all existed so that she could belong here, with Peter.” Jodi Lynn Anderson American children's writer Source: Tiger Lily
“People were infected with the concept that happiness was something outside themselves, and a new and powerful form of loneliness was born. Mix loneliness with stress and enervation, and all sorts of madness can occur. Anxiety increases, and in order to obliterate the anxiety, people turn to extreme sex, violence, and even murder.” Ryū Murakami book Audition Source: Audition (1997), Chapter One
“She was like a lone angel floating above the surface of the earth, laughing with delight because she could fly but crying out of loneliness.” Markus Zusak book The Book Thief Source: The Book Thief
“That of all people, it should be him; that took her aback. That the heart should settle on somebody like him; that surprised her. But she was so certain about it, so certain.” Alexander McCall Smith (1948) British writer Source: Dream Angus: The Celtic God of Dreams
“Justification for infidelity and dishonesty in all their manifestations lies in the marginal cost economics of “just this once.” Clayton M. Christensen (1952–2020) Mormon academic
“She didn’t have to believe the technology existed. She only had to believe that people believed the technology existed. People, being stupid, believed all sorts of things.” Adam Roberts book Jack Glass: The Story of a Murderer Part 2, Chapter 4, “The Mystery of the Champagne Supernovae” (p. 128). Jack Glass (2012)