“People have to snatch at happiness when they can, in this world. It is always easier to lose than to find...”

“It's painful to hold out hope for the things that once brought you joy. You have to find ways to make yourself forget.”

“My heart is shattered, an all that's left are jagged shards.”

“I remember her words to me when I left school: Your mind will be your comfort. It is, sometimes. And sometimes it isn't.”

“Before we leave the gravesite, Mary sings Mother's favorite gospel hymn ...Mary's lovely voice rises and lingers in the air, and by the end of the song most of us are crying. I am too, though I sti...”

“Something inexorable seeds itself in the place of your origin. You can never escape the bonds of family history, no matter how far you travel.”

“And oh, how she pitched herself into things. She would draw pictures all day long for weeks on end, then throw out the pencils and never draw another thing. Then it was embroidery with her, she had...”

“I knew the woodsy fragrance that accompanied Reed was his natural scent. It was one of the many things that made him hard to resist.”

“My whole world started to tilt. I could feel it, sliding ever so slightly off center.”