16 Quotes by Lara Williams

We jumped immediately into the kind of candid conversation women our age could have. We discussed our menstrual cycles and our favorite films and our most hated male writers. We shared our theories on David Lynch’s problem with women and our favorite episodes of Twin Peaks. We dispensed full biographies in which we detailed run-ins with school bullies and absentee fathers, dwindling career ambitions and would-be side hustles.

Sourdough begins with a starter, which is also known as a leaven, a chief, a head, a pre-ferment, or my favorite – a mother. There are several different types of starter, depending on the ratio of water to flour, so you may have a loose and sticky starter or a stiff and heavy starter. What I am trying to say is: there is more than one way to begin.

I wanted to hasten our intimacy, to cut straight to the chase.

When we left the room, a few hours later, it was like emerging into the daylight after an afternoon trip to the cinema, leaving behind the mythical for reality, the feeling of being quietly but fundamentally changed.

Life seemed like a series of some people coupling up and others being shut out as a direct result.

When he tried to tell me about some renovations he was having done to his home office, I said, “Oh, I don’t think I’m interested in hearing about that.” I carried on talking. I spoke all my unspoken thoughts and ideas. I spoke any notion that popped into my head. When I didn’t think he was properly listening to me, I repeated myself. When he interrupted, I said, “I’ve not finished yet.” When he told me something I already knew, I said, “Thank you, but I obviously already know that.

I never made anything sweet. No cakes or desserts. Pies were filled with kidneys and game. Loaves were picnic, zucchini. Though I liked the idea of creating my own ice creams or pastries, it seemed sort of frivolous. What I need was sustenance. Fortification.