A bus drives past, and I’m nauseated by a whiff of exhaust. Then rotting fish. The rancid stench of sewage. Is it garbage day? I’m trapped in the pungent fog, in the dreary suburban-style shops, the rat race of city life. The city, even on the West Coast, has the power to beat us down, to suck us of passion, to crush our dreams.

— Shannon Mullen

As I accept the flowers, I release my grip on the balloons, and they bounce gently against the ceiling the way they did before—hovering, annoyed, frustrated, contained by the ceiling and disappointed by the limits of life.

— Shannon Mullen

Can I Tinder swipe for cat cuddles?

— Shannon Mullen

Can you revive wilted tulips?

— Shannon Mullen

Despite all the social advances in women’s rights and the push for gender equality in the workplace, it seems like modern men still want a woman that they can take care of at home.

— Shannon Mullen

Even the tiniest of flowers can have the toughest roots.

— Shannon Mullen

Family is the most important thing in this life.

— Shannon Mullen

He nods, looking through the pictures on the screen on the back of his camera. Some relationships can only exist as memories. But unlike ephemeral digital images that can be sorted and deleted, we can’t erase the past. We have to learn to live with all the images that are stored in love's archive, memories tagged good and bad. No Photoshopping. Accept the negative before moving forward.

— Shannon Mullen

Her eyes remind me of the Pacific: Raging. Fearless. Restless.

— Shannon Mullen

How can any of us even know what to believe anymore? Our culture’s full of so much phoniness and deception. Companies advertise products to make us believe that we will be more beautiful, more healthy, or live longer by consuming their products. We are seduced by lovers who feed their porn addictions when we’re asleep. We’re taught to believe that if we work hard and take risks, that we can achieve our dreams, yet youth unemployment is the highest it’s been in decades. Fairytales tell us that true love exists, but half of all marriages end in divorce.

— Shannon Mullen