“There are many things for which I owe gratitude to my dad. Most of all, I am grateful to the only man who could love my mother more than me.”

“Children betrayed their parents by becoming their own people.”

“But marrying within one's own family can get monotonous. One has heard all the same family stories, knows all the jokes and all the same recipes. No novelty.”

“She took comfort in the familiarity of his smell, knowing that if she lost all her possessions and her home, at least she would have her family.”

“The past could be jettisoned . . . but seeds got carried.”

“If you don't know history, you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree.”

“The story of his great-grandfather . . . was his own story, too.”

“We accept the love we think we deserve.”

“All Earthquakes and Disasters are warnings theres too much corruption in the world ”

“Its only when youre at the bottom of the ladder that you ascend.”