Jay Asher - Thirteen Reasons Why (2007)

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I hate not knowing what to believe anymore. I hate not knowing what's real.

Jay Asher
It's up to the reader to decipher the code, or the words, based on everything they know about life and emotions.

Jay Asher
We both laugh. And it feels good. A release. Like laughing at a funeral. Maybe inappropriate, but definitely needed.

Jay Asher
The road to publication is like a churro - long and bumpy, but sweet.

Jay Asher
I want to collapse. I want to fall on the sidewalk right there and drag myself to the ivy.

Jay Asher
Did the poet use red to symbolize blood? Anger? Lust? Or is the wheelbarrow simply red because red sounded better than black?

Jay Asher
Because it may seem like a small role now, but it matters. In the end, everything matters.

Jay Asher
Because what if I got to know you and you turned out to be just like they said? What if you weren't the person I hoped you were? That, more than anything, would have hurt the most.

Jay Asher
Don't give up on me now. I'm sorry. I guess that's an odd thing to say. Because isn't that what I'm doing? Giving up?

Jay Asher
I want to look back. To look over my shoulder and see the Stop sign with huge reflective letters, pleading with Hannah. Stop!

Jay Asher
I hope you're ready, because I'm about to tell you the story of my life. More specifically, why my life ended. And if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of the reasons why.

Jay Asher
We all know the sound a camera makes when it snaps a picture. Even some of the digitals do it for nostalgia's sake.

Jay Asher
I could picture life—school and everything else—continuing on without me. But I could not picture my funeral. Not at all. Mostly because I couldn't imagine who would attend or what they would say.

Jay Asher
I decided to find out how people at school might react if one of the students never came back.

Jay Asher
It's hard to be disappointed when what you expected turns out to be true.

Jay Asher
That's what I love about poetry. The more abstract, the better. The stuff where you're not sure what the poet's talking about. You may have an idea, but you can't be sure. Not a hundred percent. Each word, specifically chosen, could have a million different meanings.

Jay Asher
And what about you-the rest of you-did you notice the scars you left behind? No. Probably not. Because most of them can't be seen with the naked eye.

Jay Asher
You can't go back to how things were. How you thought they were. All you really have is...now.

Jay Asher
We didn't get that chance because I was afraid. Afraid I had no chance with you.

Jay Asher
Then come to realize that you're making mountains out of molehills. Realize how petty you've become. Sure, it may feel like you can't get a grip on this town. It may seem that every time someone offers you a hand up, they just let go and you slip further down. But you must stop being so pessimistic, Hannah, and learn to trust those around you. So I do. One more time.

Jay Asher
That's when I said it. That's when I whispered to her, I'm so sorry. Because inside, I felt so happy and sad at the same time. Sad that it took me so long to get there. But happy that we got there together.

Jay Asher
I'm listening to someone give up. Someone I knew—someone I liked. I'm listening... but still, I'm too late.

Jay Asher
Because when you're posed, you know someone's watching. You put on your very best smile. You let your sweetest personality shine.

Jay Asher
If you're angry, you don't have to write a poem dealing with the cause of your anger. But it needs to be an angry poem. So go ahead... write one. I know you're at least a little bit angry with me. And when you're done with your poem, decipher it as if you'd just found it printed in a textbook and know absolutely nothing about its author. The results can be amazing...and scary. But it's always cheaper than a therapist.

Jay Asher
Maybe it's not as important to you as it was for me, but that's not for you to decide.

Jay Asher
Maybe you didn't know what people thought of you because they themselves didn't know what they thought of you. Maybe you didn't give us enough to go on, Hannah.

Jay Asher
No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same.

Jay Asher
When you hold people up for ridicule, you have to take responsibility when other people act on it.

Jay Asher
I take a slow sip of lukewarm coffee, reopen the book, and read the words scribbled in red ink near the top: Everyone needs an olly-olly-oxen-free.

Jay Asher
You don't know what goes on in anyone's life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person's life, you're not messing with just that part. Unfortunately, you can't be that precise and selective. When you mess with one part of a person's life, you're messing with their entire life. Everything... affects everything.

Jay Asher