" She was not as stupid as some I have had, and better company, but still perhaps her going was for the best. She was not what I needed."

"Because I failed," whispered Alyce in the shadows.

"Because she gave up," continued the midwife. "I need an apprentice who can do what I tell her, take what I give her, who can try and risk and fail and try again and not give up... "

― Karen Cushman , The Midwife's Apprentice