Literary Birthday – 8 September – Lang Leav

Happy Birthday, Lang Leav, born 8 September.

What was it like to love him? Asked Gratitude.
It was like being exhumed, I answered, and brought to life in a flash of brilliance.
What was it like to be loved in return? Asked Joy.
It was like being seen after a perpetual darkness, I replied. To be heard after a lifetime of silence.
What was it like to lose him? Asked Sorrow.
There was a long pause before I responded: It was like hearing every goodbye ever said to me—said all at once.

Quotes

1. I don’t think all writers are sad, she said. I think it’s the other way around- all sad people write.
2. There is a particular kind of suffering to be experienced when you love something greater than yourself. A tender sacrifice. Like the pained silence felt in the lost song of a mermaid; or the bent and broken feet of a dancing ballerina. It is in every considered step I am taking in the opposite direction of you.
3. I wanted everything because I didn’t want anything enough.
4. You were the one, I wanted most to stay. But time could not be kept at bay. The more it goes, the more it’s gone, the more it takes away.
5. It was words that I fell for. In the end, it was words that broke my heart.

Lang Leav is an international bestselling author who lived in Australia. She currently resides in New Zealand with her partner, fellow author Michael Faudet. She was born in a Thai refugee camp, after her Cambodian parents fled from the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. She is the winner of a Qantas Spirit of Youth Award and a Churchill Fellowship. Her books include Love & Misadventure, Lullabies, The Universe of Us, and Memories.

Image from author’s website  https://www.langleav.com/about  Photo by Carolyn Haslett