Top 100 Marieke Nijkamp Quotes (2026 Update)
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51. “The only things that give us purpose are the stories that tie us together. We.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

52. “I can deal with pain. I always have and always will. But that’s familiar pain. It’s the pain I can – to some degree – adapt to and understand. This is too much. Too overwhelming. What’s almost as bad is that I’m bone tired. Tired enough that part of me wants to curl up and stay here, screw the consequences.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

53. “Whatever happens, I want her to know that. I want her to know I loved her, I love her, and I wish I would have told her a thousand times over. I wish I’d told her how I felt before today came crashing down around us.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

54. “I don’t feel panic or shock. There’s just a sense of defeat. This is it.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

55. “This is what our world is now: the dead, the lost, the wounded. Could I have done anything about it? Could I have prevented this by speaking up?”

— Marieke Nijkamp

56. “Stories remind me of heroes and possibilities. Stories remind me that I’m not the only one to deal with this. Stories make me feel less alone.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

57. “I’ve always thought this the test of a good game. Whether it withstands the stories told about it.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

58. “This is how I will remember her. And with every corner I turn, I will still expect to see her. With every constellation I observe, I’ll wonder about stories as well as science. I’ll build a bridge to her. I’ll look for falling stars.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

59. “Relief and sorrow follow each other rapidly, because with the names of those who live comes the void of those who have not. Death brings life; life brings death.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

60. “The stars we see in the night sky are so far away that it takes years for us to see it when they die. I can’t help but wonder if Kyra had burned out long before I left – and if we simply hadn’t seen it.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

61. “I was Catholic. I can feel guilty about anything without so much as trying...”

— Marieke Nijkamp

62. “A stillness came from the forest that she could find nowhere else.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

63. “I want to be safe. And here isn’t safe anymore.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

64. “I’m not saying anyone did this. But people are capable of all kinds of things. And I can keep trusting people and getting hurt, or I can try to be more sensible about it.” I scowl and look away from them, but despite my determination, the words taste like bile in my mouth. It’s so much easier not to get attached to people, but I don’t think I can live like that.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

65. “You can do far more than you ever imagined. If you don’t believe that, at least believe me.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

66. “Here, everything is possible. And that is the biggest lie of all. I don’t just want to make the game good for them; I want to stay here and never go back.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

67. “The word pain does too much work, you know? It’s like sorry, which really shouldn’t have to carry both “I sympathize” and “this is all my fault.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

68. “This morning, I wished I could escape to anywhere, be anything. Now all my dreams are out of reach, and.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

69. “Cities always got under her skin when she came in from the wild. But where she raised her hackles, Vax thrived. His shoulders dropped and his awareness sharpened. He walked with the gait of someone who expected trouble and would in fact welcome it.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

70. “We’ll build a bridge. A bridge between us.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

71. “But as much as the town believed in her, they still didn’t value her enough to save her. And I lost myself to the world outside the town’s borders. I forgot about her too.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

72. “Before the accident – BTA – I didn’t know anger and pain could feel the same. I didn’t think physical pain and emotional pain could simply be extensions of each other. Now, I could hardly separate the two. And I wanted to crash my fist into a kitchen cabinet or my knee into a chair. Find a more harmful way to stim. Either make the pain worse or make it go away.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

73. “Sometimes it felt as if he and I walked the same road, but each of us was going in a different direction.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

74. “Vex shook her head when the man picked up his bow and, whistling a jaunty tune, started making his way down.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

75. “Maybe it’s adrenaline, maybe it’s plain stupidity, but life makes the most sense to me if I do not have to take it seriously. And I want to make the most of every moment.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

76. “We also talked about the intensity of high school, because, let’s be honest, whether you have good experiences or bad or – for most of us – a combination thereof, high school is a lot. It’s like getting a bag full of puzzle pieces, but no one knows what the puzzle should look like or if the set is even complete.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

77. “If you’re afraid, think about tomorrow, because tomorrow will be a new day. Tomorrow, there’ll be new chances, I’ll be home.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

78. “Thorn’s glances were as sharp as his words.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

79. “To full-blood elves, they might appear too young to be this weathered and weary, but to any perceptive observer, it was clear they came by their caution honestly, and they moved with a grace brought on by years of traveling together.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

80. “Trouble is, that’s exactly what scares me. I don’t feel safe with many people. I have literally never asked someone out on a date before. I don’t have a clue how to go about it. I never did crushes before. I didn’t feel comfortable enough in my own skin. I didn’t know how much of a hang-up gender would be for other people – or disability, for that matter. If you’re constantly told people like you don’t have meaningful relationships, you eventually believe it.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

81. “Intent only takes us so far. It’s a shield people hide behind, but not a weapon.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

82. “Turyn looked at Vax as though he spoke a different language and with something that almost resembled pity.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

83. “The woods could provide for almost anything. Food, protection, a place where they didn’t have to be wary about anything or anyone else. It was simple and peaceful-most of the time.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

84. “We fly to an otherworldly place, one that does not play by the same rules. The evergreens wear an armor of snow. The air shimmers with cold.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

85. “I steel myself before I allow them to pull me up. I don’t like when people touch me. I don’t like it when I’m observing a conversation and it suddenly turns to me. And I don’t like the sharp stab of pain when I rest my weight on my leg again.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

86. “A current passes through the crowd with the news of each survivor. Relief and sorrow follow each other rapidly, because with the names of those who live comes the void of those who have not. Death brings life; life brings death. There are no words in that fleeting moment between hope and the knowledge. There is no way to express how a heart can burst and break at the same time, how the sun can cut through the darkness but will cast shadows everywhere.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

87. “Losing is only permanent if you stop trying.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

88. “The relazed atmosphere and the pleasant buzz of voices wrapped around Vax as he followed Gideor, as if to remind him that perhaps the Clasp wasn’t so bad an ally to have. That perhaps there was something to the spireling’s words after all. Vax regarded it all warily, recognizing how the tavern functioned as both a lure and a mask for the dangers that lay underneath.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

89. “You have to ask yourself how you can become the best you can be.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

90. “Hers is a story that deserves to be told. Hers is a story that deserves to be heard. It’s the story of a girl who believed in heroes and wanted to be one herself. Who saw stories in the world around her, and who regaled an entire Alaskan town with them. And hers is a story of how they started to believe her.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

91. “Today, all jokes fall flat, though we keep trying.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

92. “Living with an obnoxious, stubborn body means I learned how to fall. I learned how to break my fall. I learned how to fall and protect myself. I learned how to fall and keep breathing. I learned how to fall in such a way that I didn’t break further. But getting back up again is never easy.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

93. “We might not be able to beat this together, but we definitely can’t face it alone.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

94. “He didn’t care for the books their tutors gave them, but he did care for the shadowed alleyways, the exquisitely carved arched passageways, the dancing lights in the trees. He wanted to know and taste the parts of the city that never make it into a history book.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

95. “You’re brave.” Lorna said. “I’m not,” I assured her, trying not to bristle. I hate being called brave. It’s almost as bad as inspiring.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

96. “The bear grunted and nudged her with his head and she scratched his neck and breathed in the familiar scent of fur and mind and safety.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

97. “His presence steadies me like it always does.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

98. “What would I say? I lost the place where I didn’t have to think about who I need to be, a place where rules were clear and I excelled at them. I lost nearly everything I care about by simply trying to stay afloat, and this weekend, I’ll lose the rest. “Thanks.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

99. “We must not deny our fear. We have to remember to be afraid. And we have to go on anyway.”

— Marieke Nijkamp

100. “We’re at exactly the right place, at exactly the right time.”

— Marieke Nijkamp