“I think this year has changed my perspective on a lot of things. This idea that in the blink of an eye your life can change. I’ve been very lucky this year. My family has been safe, no one has been sick. But the things that really stir my soul like travel and things like that were really taken away. And it’s like, ‘okay, what can you do if you don’t have that?’ It’s about finding things locally and finding places that give you as much pleasure. Like, going for a walk today when the sun was finally out. A walk down by the river, flowers are starting to come out, and daffodils are starting to bloom. Those things just make you so happy. You don’t need, sometimes, all these grand gestures or great expensive things to go and feel really happy. You just have to appreciate what’s on your doorstep.”
—Caitriona Balfe, book club discussion #8: The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende