PART 1 Expressions
1. I can see now how hard people work to keep it together, but the walls that keep their lives from falling apart are brittle.
brittle: 1. 硬但易碎的 hard but easily broken;
The branches were dry and brittle.
2; 外表坚强但内心脆弱的 a brittle mood or state of mind is one that appears to be happy or strong but is actually nervous and easily damaged
a brittle temperament
3. （感情）脆弱的 a relationship or feeling that is brittle is easily damaged or destroyed
2. Instead, we plod along.
plod: 艰难地行走；吃力地行进
The horse plodded up the hill.
prod along/ on 进展缓慢（尤指艰难枯燥的工作）
For years he had plodded along in a series of boring office jobs.
3. The famous Reverend Ike used to say it with a cheeky smile: "Don't wait for your pie in the sky by and by; have it now with ice cream and cherry on top!"
cheeky: informal, rude or disrespectful, sometimes in a way that is amusing
You cheeky monkey! / You cheeky devil! 你这厚脸皮的人!
a cheeky grin 厚颜无耻的龇牙一笑
You're getting far too cheeky! 你太放肆了！
4. Then the music swelled.
swell: 1. 膨胀；肿胀； 2. 增加；增大
Last year's profits were swelled by a fall in production costs.
3. （声音）增强；变得更响亮
The cheering swelled through the hall.
5. In Greek, the mountain went by its more common name, Armageddon, a byword for the end of time.
a byword for sth: a person or thing that is a well-known or typical example of a particular quality （某种品质或特征的）代名词
The name Chanel became a byword for elegance. 香奈儿这个名字成了优雅的代名词。
His name has become a byword for honesty in the community.
补充. bywork: 副业
6. He was so stooped by sadness that he had to stop teaching us.
stoop: 这个词本身比较熟悉了，是“弯腰”或引申为“堕落”的意思。
这里的用法比较形象，可以脑补出一个被忧伤压弯了腰的人的形象。中文里也有类似"被生活压得不堪重负"的表达，与之有异曲同工之妙。
7. "How about your motto should be 'Balls Out Living. Balls out Grieving'?" she ventures.
venture: formal, to say or do sth in a careful way, especially because it might upset 小心地说
She hardly dared to venture an opinion.
I ventured to suggest that she might have made a mistake.
"And if I say no?" she ventured.
venture的这个意思得特别注意一下，因为它与我们直觉所认为的意思相反。venture做名词是风险投资的意思，做动词有“敢于做某事”的意思，所以直觉上可能会猜想这里是大胆地说，但事实正相反，是小心谨慎地说。（可以这样理解，本身要说的内容是某种一般人不敢说的东西，某人冒着风险尝试着去说，但也多少有点胆战心惊。）
补充一个短语： venture sth on sth: to risk losing sth valuable or important if you are not successful at sth 冒着巨大的风险；孤注一掷
It was wrong to venture his financial security on such a risky deal.
8. My little plans are crumbs scattered on the ground.
crumb: 食物碎屑；尤指面包屑，糕饼屑
Coat with bread crumbs and bake.
a crumb of comfort/ hope/ affection etc: a small piece of amount
a few crumbs of useful information
The government's only crumb of comfort is that their opponents are as confused as they are.
PART 2 Thoughts
今天读完了这本Everything Happens for a Reason。其实直到故事的结尾作者都没有对开篇提的三个问题给出解答——1. Why? 2. God, are you here? 3. What does this suffering mean? 书的结尾作者并没有完全摆脱癌症，而是处于一种不知道未来是生是死的状况之中。但是她在朋友的建议下开始去学习一个关于人生规划的课程，她开始不再沉溺于悲伤与恐惧之中，而是有计划地在这种去做一些事情，去挑战一些目标。
想起自己过去三年的经历，其实也是在一片不知道未来在哪里的黑暗中开始去设定一个个小目标，给自己的生活找一些意义，在不知不觉中竟也一步步走出了黑暗。这些经历教会我一件事，当你感觉不知所措的时候，不妨去选择做一些让自己觉得快乐和有意义的事，不要太去忧虑明天。人生有太多的未知，也许某一天你会发现你所经历的一切都是有意义的，也或许，你最终的结论是，人生不过是一部狗血又阑尾的戏剧，但不管如何，我们至少拥有着现在，我们可以对于自己的今天做出选择。不要去抱怨自己失去了什么，也不要担心自己明天会在哪里，就像这本书的作者所说的，不管明天如何，至少今天我还活着。