It was such a weird thing how a breakup stretched much wider than you expected. You didn't just lose a person, but their entire world as well.

About Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen (born June 6, 1970) is an American novelist known for her contributions to young adult fiction. Her first book, That Summer, was published in 1996, and has since published more than a dozen other novels and novellas. In 2017, Dessen won the Margaret Edwards Award for some of...

More quotations from Sarah Dessen

I realized how truly hard it was, really, to see someone you love change right before your eyes.

—Sarah Dessen in The Truth About Forever

No matter how well I thought I was getting to know him, there was always some part of himself he kept hidden: people and places, activities in which I wasn't included.

—Sarah Dessen in Someone Like You

One summer and one boy, and suddenly things weren't the same.

—Sarah Dessen in That Summer

summer

If only you could really use a fail-proof system to know who was worth keeping and who needed to be thrown away. It would make it so much easier to move through the world, picking and choosing what connections to make, or whether to make any at all.

—Sarah Dessen in What Happened to Goodbye

I was going to let it happen, let the tears come and the sobs rise up from my chest. I imagined crying until I was exhausted, dry, finally letting it all go.

—Sarah Dessen in That Summer

History

24 Jun 2015 Added
26 Oct 2026 Wording changed

Previous wording

It was such a weird thing how a breakup stretched much wider than you expected. You didn't just lose a person, but their entire world as well.