The truth was that I hadn’t really felt much for years. Just a vague lingering sadness. Anhedonia. Do you know that word? The inability to feel pleasure. An unfeeling. Well, that had been me for some time. I have known depression, and it wasn’t that. It didn’t have the intensity of depression. It was just a lack.
-- Narration (The Inability to Feel Pleasure)

Importance: This quote highlights Grace’s emotional state at the start of the novel, establishing her sense of numbness and emotional detachment, suggesting that she has been stuck in a state of unfeeling for a long time, unable to engage fully with life. This emotional emptiness reflects her stagnation and isolation, setting up the contrast with her eventual transformation. The reference to depression further underscores the weight of her emotional struggle, but the distinction she draws between the two suggests that Grace’s journey is not just about overcoming sadness but...