The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go QUOTES

1 " Everyone always assumed it was her mom who was the grilled cheese aficionado, but it was her dad who had mastered the art first.
"Remember when Dad would make us breakfast grilled cheeses?" May asked.
She and her mom had finally found a rhythm where they could work and talk at the same time.
"I miss those," May said.
Her mom swallowed, then cleared her throat. "I don't know what he did that made them so good. The Nutella and mascarpone was my favorite. I think he browned the butter first- he always did something to make it a little special."
She even managed a tiny smile. May smiled back at her.
"I liked the bacon and egg with marble cheese."
"He grilled that one in bacon grease."
"The house would smell so good."
"Except that one time he got distracted by a crossword and burned the sandwiches. It took all day to to get the smell of burned toast smoke out of the house. And you have to admit, not every one of his creations was good."
May scrunched her face, remembering some of the worst. Her mom wiped at her eyes and flipped the sandwiches in front of her.
"Like the pickle and Brie combo. What was he thinking?"
"That wasn't as bad as the pineapple and blue cheese. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

2 " In Gina's experience, cheese made everything better- Parmesan on popcorn, crispy fried goat cheese in a salad, a swipe of cream cheese on a toasted bagel, or melted gouda on an egg sandwich. She even liked a dollop of sweetened mascarpone on a slice of warm cherry pie instead of ice cream. But grilled cheese, gooey from the griddle, crisp on the outside, melty on the inside, that was the pinnacle of dairy possibility.
No matter how it was dressed up, with balsamic reductions or micro greens, a grilled cheese was still luscious goodness between carbs. Simple, wholesome comfort food at its finest. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

3 " Grilled G's was her husband's last gift to her before he left. He created it to stand out in a line of food trucks, drawing customers to the popular menu of gourmet grilled cheeses- ranging from a classic American cheese on crisp, buttery Italian bread to a rustic combo of creamy Brie, arugula, and prosciutto on a seed-studded multigrain. She even served a grilled peanut butter and jelly (made with coconut oil instead of butter) for dairy-intolerant customers. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

4 " She pulled out a few tortilla chips from a nearby shelf, dipping one deeply and popping it in her mouth, then holding out the jar so Daniel could do the same. She was hit with the summery peach and brown sugar that sweetened the tomatoes, and then the heat built, numbing her tongue from the back to the front. She swallowed, eyes watering, and looked at Daniel, who already had his mouth open trying to cool it off. Most Wisconsinites couldn't hold their heat, so she wouldn't be able to use it straight, but there were some nice flavors in there.
"Here." She handed him a yogurt smoothie she kept in the fridge for days when she didn't have time to make a sandwich for herself.
"Sorry, G. I thought it would be delicious." He had an easy manner, bordering on shy, but with a strong thoughtful streak. Gina appreciated his amiable company.
"Ye of little faith. It has great flavor. It would be a shame to waste it. Have a seat and give me a few minutes."
Daniel settled on the overturned five-gallon bucket she used as a chair when it was slow.
"Tell me about what you were doing in Texas," she said.
"My sister and her family live near Austin. I try to get down and visit her once a winter. It's a nice break from the cold."
While he spoke she worked, mixing the salsa into cream cheese to cut the heat. She had some cornbread that she had made herself so it was the right texture to cut into slices- it would be the perfect accompaniment. She warmed up a little slow-cooked pork, tossing it with the peach salsa cream cheese mix, and put it between the cornbread slices with some shredded Monterey Jack, grilling it with butter to give the bread a crisp crunch. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

5 " He set a jar next to her elbow- sriracha bacon jam. Brave man, to try spicy again. Gina smiled.
"This won't even be difficult." She slathered the jam on two pieces of thick white bread, then topped each side with American cheese slices, giving one slice a scoop of macaroni and cheese. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

6 " Wianki are traditionally worn by maidens at festivals, especially on St. John's Eve, which was always near Midsummer's Eve. At the end of the festival, the maidens would throw their flower wreaths into the water. If yours became tangled with another girl's, then you were destined to be best friends. If it sank, then you would likely never get married and probably have a lot of cats. But, if a young man snatched your wreath from the water, then the two of you were destined to be married. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

7 " Bacon, chocolate, and caramel- those were all things May liked. Maybe after she fried the bacon, she could crumble it into caramel and drizzle that on top of her favorite brownie recipe. She set to baking.
Once the brownies were done and glazed with the bacon caramel, she cut a huge slab out of the corner and slid it onto a plate, burning herself on the gooey, piping-hot concoction. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

8 " The salty bacon and sweet caramel gave her gooey brownie a nice salty/sweet kick, and she wished she could bake them for her dad. He would have loved how she'd improved on her brownie recipe. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

9 " Gina finished up the sandwiches, handed them off to people who'd been waiting, and immediately started three of her Classic grilled cheeses, a combination of Colby-Jack, American, and provolone on fresh Italian bread with a lot of butter, crisp and golden. She'd learned long ago to grill both slices of bread for each sandwich at the same time, topping them with shredded cheese, and bringing them together at the end to complete it. It took half the time and was just as delicious. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

10 " Gina set her notepad and pen on the hospital nightstand, then pulled the warm garlic bread from the parchment paper package meant to keep the pooling butter from escaping, but it really provided the perfect dipping spot. She bit into the crusty edge, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, and sprinkled with the exact right amount of garlic salt. Mama Mia's garlic bread, the ultimate comfort food- all carbs and fat. After dropping May off at home on her way back to the hospital, she'd swung by for the necessary comfort-food fix. Now that she thought about it, their iconic bread would make an amazing grilled cheese sandwich. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

11 " What all of these people didn’t understand is she couldn’t fast-forward her grief. It wasn’t another item on her checklist she could accomplish then cross out. Grief demanded to be felt on its own time. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

12 " The more a daughter knows about the details of her mother’s life—without flinching or whining—the stronger the daughter. —Anita Diamant, The Red Tent "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

13 " All these years, Lorraine had carried a part of Gina and Vicky’s dad with her. Her mom and she had been making the same mistake. They both had tried to navigate life by keeping one foot in the same spot. Instead of getting anywhere, they merely traced the same, one-footed circle over and over. There was no room for anything else—or anyone else—on that path. It seemed cruel to discover they had so much in common at the end. Gina had never wanted to let go, worried the pain was all she had left. But she needed to free herself to blaze a new path, one with room for May—and maybe someone else. Gina latched the cross around her neck, a reminder to break the circle and move forward. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

14 " Roza’s familiar smiling face answered the door in her housedress, pulling Gina into a hug before she could say anything, her wrinkled pale hands cool but strong from years of kneading dough and wrangling small children. As cool as her hands were, she was always warm, like her enormous heart could heat the entire world. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

15 " Her first marriage had been like a sunny day in March, the Northern Lights on a summer night, snow in June—rare and precious, but not impossible "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

16 " Focus on a task. Complete it. Move to the next task. One could fill a life that way. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

17 " He treated her as a gift in his life, someone to treasure, not as an afterthought or employee. Her parents treated marriage as a business proposition. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

18 " She had always viewed her mother as someone to placate, keep happy, try to please. She never thought of her as someone she wanted to know. But for the first time, she did want to know her mother. It was time to ask some questions. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go

19 " After such a day, Gina sat down looking forward to writing her end-of-day list. She found it cleared her mind before sleep, giving her a plan to wake up to the next day. The smooth pen and the way it whispered as it flew over the paper was better than any meditation: the sound of order and productivity and control. "

― Amy E. Reichert , The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go