“Uncommon anxiety came to us in common hours when other people were doing mundane things like taking out the trash or checking their phones. But there was nothing to be done for this. We couldnt cha...”

“Sometimes, in the stillness of my room, my moms voice came to me, repeating things shed said for months. Like, My skin is melting off my face, isnt it? And, My whole body feels dead from the crap t...”

“It was an oddly satisfying idea to feel bereft as I left my mother this time. We only feel bereft when were deprived of something meaningful.”

“My mom was sitting at the kitchen table. Shed set her coffee down, making a noise that made me look her way. Id begun to notice her less and less often, like her colors were fading and blending in ...”

“With a damp palm, I turned the knob and cracked open the door. She was asleep in her freshly made bed. I cant explain how relieved I felt for this simple mercy. She was here and safe on clean sheets.”

“When Dad was in the middle of a description of the hotels laundry facility, I interrupted. Why havent you told me today, like you do every day, that Moms going to be better soon?He looked up then. ...”

“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.”

“But I understood, now, that we dont live only for ourselves. Were connected by millions of shared experiences and dreams and nightmares, all tied together with compassion. I learned that even when ...”

“Wyatt told me once that if tenderness were a disease, Id be terminal.”

“We bumped into other silent lines of kids going in the same direction. We looked like we were much younger and our lines were headed to the cafeteria or recess or the carpool line. Or it couldve be...”

“Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.”

“Without you in my arms, I feel an emptiness in my soul. I find myself searching the crowds for your face - I know it's an impossibility, but I cannot help myself.”

“So its true, when all is said and done, grief is the price we pay for love.”