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Contest Results and Reflections

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August 31, 2018 by Liza Achilles 1 Comment

The results are in! I put all the contest entries into a hat . . . and pulled out . . . a rabbit!

Just kidding—I pulled out the name of one lucky winner. A hearty congratulations to Rachel Delaney, who is now—that is, who will shortly be, as soon as the package arrives through the mail—the proud owner of the novel The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante. I hope you enjoy your new book, Rachel!

I would also like to sincerely thank each of you who entered the contest. I appreciate your willingness to join the community of blog readers and share your ideas about books. Unfortunately, only one person could win; but in honor of life’s inherent unfairness, and to lift the spirits of any who feel bummed at not winning, I would like to conclude this post by sharing some quotable quotes on recovering from loss and weathering adversity. There will be more contests, friends!

“Daring is not saying, ‘I’m willing to risk failure.’ Daring is saying, ‘I know I will eventually fail and I’m still all in.’ ”

—Brené Brown, Rising Strong, 2015
“It is odd, but agitation or contest of any kind gives a rebound to my spirits and sets me up for a time.”

—Lord Byron, letter to Mr. Moore, 1816
“Have this thought ever present with thee, when thou losest any outward thing, what thou gainest in its stead; and if this be the more precious, say not, I have suffered loss.”

—Epictetus, translated by Hastings Crossley (1903), c. 55–135 AD