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1 " All those days of walking the heath, collecting her specimens, reinforced in her a need to look to the natural world for her own location. Now, even in London, she is constantly searching out the trees and grass, the flowers, to determine her position in the urban landscape. She looks to the natural world to guide her in how she moves through the city, in how she thinks about her own life. "
― Helen Humphreys , The Evening Chorus
2 " Time doesn’t really soften anything. Memories heave up, you know. Still sharp.”“Forgetting takes practice,” says Enid. “You have to work at it. "
3 " Another time might be easier than this one, but there’s only the time you’re in, thinks Enid. And it’s always going to be lacking somehow. Best to spend some of your moments here on earth noticing what else is here with you instead of concentrating solely on your own misery. "
4 " The truth is that you do forget people. When you conjure them up, long after they have gone, you can’t recall the essence of them, just the outline. "
5 " I like the candor of dogs. They're always honest about what they're feeling. "
6 " This is the problem with time…It doesn't follow its own rules. It stretches or compresses at will. It's either a lingering house guest or an escape artist. "
7 " If you pretend to feel a certain way, eventually you do feel that way. "
8 " Perhaps effort doesn't matter, it isn't what ensures survival. "
9 " You can't undo actions with words. "
10 " The truth is that you do forget people. When you conjure them up, long after they have gone, you can't recall the essence of them, just the outline. "
11 " The strong don't necessarily survive, but the mean invariably do. "
12 " It’s so hard to get life right, she thinks, pulling the blanket tight around her shoulders. All the small balances are impossible to strike most of the time. And then there are the larger choices. "
13 " Enid had sent Rose a card with the words “I’m sorry” on it. She hadn’t known what else to say because at that point she wasn’t sure James knew anything about Toby Halliday. But now she wishes that she had said something else. Now that she’s in love again herself—a complete surprise really, after all this time, and with someone she never expected to be in love with—Enid would tell Rose that she understands love is never the same. You can love different people over the course of a lifetime, but you won’t love any two of them the same way, and quite frankly, you will love some of them more than others. A great deal more. If Toby was that to Rose—if he was the one she loved the most—then Enid would have said to her, “You will continue. But you will not recover. Don’t expect that. "
14 " Sometimes life seems very unfair. "
15 " If you pretend to feel a certain way, eventually you do feel that way. That has been a surprisingly pleasant lesson to learn in life. "
16 " It’s so hard to get life right, she thinks, pulling the blanket tight around her shoulders. All the small balances are impossible to strike most of the time. And then there are the larger choices. It’s hopeless. She might as well be one of those gannets, tossed about by the gusts of wind that drive up from the Atlantic. "
17 " The period before something learns to be afraid is the most dangerous of all, because it is then the creatures are the most vulnerable. "
18 " It's better to have no secrets. Lies are always harder to manage than the truth. "
19 " Loneliness is sometimes cured by visiting with people, and sometimes it's made worse by the same thing. "
20 " Time doesn't really soften anything. Memories heave up, you know. "
