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1 " And anyway, once you allowed yourself to picture such a scenario, it couldn't happen. That was just the way life went. "
― J. Courtney Sullivan , Maine
2 " even if there was no God there was always the ocean- before you and after you, breathing in and out for all eternity. "
3 " She didn't have a single friend on earth to see her off. She had outlived them all. "
4 " But then you were alone, your body trying to heal itself while your mind went numb. There was a mix of joy and the purest love, couples with real boredom and occasional rage. It got easier as the kids got older, but it never got easy. "
5 " Ruby shook her head, but she smiled, a look that said she loved this man, loved the life they had made together. They seemed utterly comfortable with one another, like they knew each other all the way through. "
6 " Maggie wondered if in some ways all the complaining only made matters worse. "
7 " Beyond those was a stretch of sand and miles of dark blue sea. You couldn't make out a thing on the other side. As a little girl, Maggie believed that the world dropped off out there, that if you swam far enough you might fall into a starry sky. "
8 " The dogs were partly responsible for keeping her sane. The relationship she had with them was pure joy. No ulterior motives, no spite, just love and care and kindness, exactly the emotions she wanted to cultivate. "
9 " He also believed that loyalty was earned - sharing a bloodline didn't mean you had to be close. "
10 " I’m afraid your grandmother’s Irish Alzheimer’s has gotten quite advanced—she’s forgotten everything but her grudges. "
11 " It was so bitter and sad, looking for safety in the person least likely to give it to you. Like drinking salt water, she thought. The house felt eerily quiet. "
12 " It seemed to Alice that everyone these days was out for themselves. The sort of families she and Daniel had grown up in and tried to carry on no longer existed, not really. Her mother had had eight children, including the two babies that died. Daniel's mother had had ten. Though she had hated the noise and the chaos and the sacrifice this implied back then, now Alice saw that it gave you something, being part of a family like that. "
13 " Like Ronald Reagan said, trust but verify. "
14 " Well, Chrissy, I'm afraid your grandmother's Irish Alzheimer's has gotten quite advanced - she's forgotten everything but her grudges. "
15 " for everything that was wrong with men. "
16 " Vielleicht war das Bild, das die eigene Familie von einem hatte, zu sehr mit ihren Hoffnungen und Ängsten vermischt, als dass sie einen jemals wirklich als die Person sehen konnten, die man war. "
17 " He existed, then he didn’t. The world spins on, indifferent to the mess. "
18 " You all seem to think you should marry someone when you feel this intense emotion, which you call love. And then you expect the love will fade over time, as life gets harder. When what you should do is find yourself a nice enough fellow and let real love develop over years and births and deaths and so on. "
19 " All of it remained, a constant reminder: He existed, then he didn't. The world spins on, indifferent to the mess. "
20 " ...life was messy, conflict inevitable. It didn't mean you had to fall apart. "
