Beth Hoffman

“Bøkene ble mitt liv, eller kanskje jeg heller skulle si at bøkene hjalp meg å flykte fra mitt liv.”

“De seks enkle ordene ga gjenlyd i meg og fylte rommet med lys: Jeg vil veldig gjerne ha deg ... Jeg vil veldig gjerne ha deg ... Skuldrene mine begynte å riste. Vantro kjente jeg hvordan tårene spratt fra øynene og begynte å renne nedover kinnene på meg. Tante Tootie la armene om meg og trakk meg inntil seg.”

“Hun gjorde en latterlig, feiende sorti, som om hun var på audition for en nyinnspilling av Tatt av vinden.”

“Den har tilhørt bestefar, sa hun, og glattet på seddelen med de slanke fingrene sine. Han likte papirpenger - hadde for vane å bruke dem som bokmerker. Det er over tredve år siden han døde, men fremdeles finner jeg alle slags sedler stukket inn mellom bladene i bøkene hans.”

“Hun smilte til fru Odell og sa: Vi får gjøre som Scarlett O'Hara, og ikke bekymre oss for morgendagen før den er her.”

“Mange sider ved mors liv og død kommer til å forbli et mysterium, men mens jeg lå der i sengen og sorterte minnene, var det én ting som sto klart for meg: selv i sine ville stunder, når hun så fyrverkerier eksplodere og håret hennes sto til alle kanter, elsket mamma meg.”

“Mamma hadde forlatt denne verden og erobret friheten, og derfor kunne jeg også erobre den. Jeg savnet henne og skulle ønske jeg kunne få høre latteren hennes igjen. Men jeg visste med meg selv at hun fantes et sted, ett eller annet strålende, grenseløst sted. Hun passet på meg, heiet på meg. Og elsket meg.”

“A strong breeze is natures way of blowing away our sorrows.”

“A purple velvet sofa is a gals symbol of freedom.”

“I'd never heard of a holy man named after a llama. I'd never heard of a great, gaping vagina. And I didn't know a thing about the black boomerang of karma. all I knew for sure was this: I had been plunked into a strange, perfumed world that, as far as I could tell, seemed to be run entirely by women.”

“They say there's no such thing as a perfect pearl - that nothing from nature can ever be truly perfect.”

“...I wondered if I'd ever be so lucky to have a girlfriend I'd grow old with, a girlfriend who knew my secrets, my fears, my hopes-- and loved me anyway.”

“As the sunlight raced across the brilliant Savannah sky, the day unfolded like a beautiful yet painfully wrapped gift. Momma had left this world and set herself free, and in doing so, she had set me free too. As much as I missed her and wished I could hear her laughter one more time, I believed she was out there in the big bright somewhere, watching me, cheering for me. Loving me.”

“If there's one thing I'd like most for you, it's that you'll find your calling in life. That's where true happiness and purpose lies. Whether it's taking care of abandoned animals, saving old houses from the wreckin' ball, or reading to the blind, you've got to find your fire, sugar. You'll never be fulfilled if you don't.”

“One day you'll do something, see something or get an idea that seems to pop up from nowhere. And you'll feel a kind of stirring- like a warm flicker inside your chest. When that happens, whatever you do, don't ignore it. Open your mind and explore the idea. Fan your flame.”

“I stared at the room full of caskets on display-their lids gaping open like hungry mouths, waiting to swallow up the newly departed. I decided I'd much rather exit this world in a crackle of flames and a swirl of smoke through my ribs than be cooped up for all eternity in a dark box surrounded by puffy white satin.”

“A ballet of nimble-footed waitresses moved among the tables”

“She wore her sadness on the outside, like a heavy winter coat.”

“After explaining how a pearl is made she said: "It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and give us our beauty.”

“Well, looks like you won't be reaching nirvana anytime soon."She pushed a stray lock of hair off her forehead and sniffed. "Yes, I suppose that's true. I guess I'll just have to settle for a trip to Idaho.”

“Ain't no sun in the kitchen without your face lookin' up at me.”

“What's the difference between eccentric and crazy?'She lifted her hands above her head, tapped her zills together, and danced out the door. From over her shoulder she laughed and called out, 'Nobody knows!”

“But lately,' she said, wiggling her bare toes, 'I find all men to be very much like wearing high-heeled shoes -- I love how pretty they make me feel, but by the end of the night I can't wait to get rid of them.”

“c'mon now, honey, don't be mad at me. I don't mean to lie, I just remember big.”

“I tried not to smile as I gathered the marbles. After counting them out by color and placing them into the holes, I looked at Sapphire and shrugged. 'There aren't enough.'Miz Obee's face tensed, but Sapphire looked at her friend kindly, patted the table, and said, 'Just set up the board as best you can. We'll play with whatever we got.'I thought that was one of the wisest things I'd ever heard anyone say.”

“Lucille always loved a strong breeze. She said it was nature's way of blowing away our sorrows.'Just then another gust of wind whipped around us. Aunt Tootie smiled. I smiled too.”

“It occurred to me that that's what friends should do: cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest.”

“Wisteria is my favorite flowering vine. Do you know why?'I shook my head. 'No, ma'am.''Because it's strong -- just like me.”

“Do you have a pet bird?' I asked, looking around the room.'Oh, heavens, no. I'd never cage a bird. I can't imagine a worse fate, can you? I bought this cage at a market in Peru several years ago. I hung it here and wired the door open to remind myself how delicious freedom is -- financial and otherwise.”

“But if you have so much fun, then why don't you get together more than once a month?'She looked at me like a wise old owl and winked. 'Do something too often and it stops being special.”

“1. "It is what we believe about ourselves that determines how others see us"2. (regarding friends) "cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest"3. "oysters are a lot like women. It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty”

“dont go wastin all them bright tomorrows you aint even seen yet by hangin on to what happened yesterday.Let go Child. Just breathe out and let go- oletta”

“Friday is a purple-velvet-sofa day for some poor woman who's finally reclaimed her life. A purple velvet sofa is a gal's symbol of freedom.”

“I find all men to be very much like wearing high-heeled shoes - I love how pretty they make me feel, but by the end of the night I can't wait to get rid of them .. Thelma Rae Goodpepper in Saving CeeCee Honeycutt”

“Oysters are a lot like women. It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty.”

“It's our hearts that tell us the truth of things, honey, and my heart has never betrayed me. Not ever.”

“Just set up the board as best you can. We'll play with whatever we got.”

“...we have become a throwaway society. Instead of honoring and preserving our past, we tear it down, shove it aside, and just go on our merry way. Well, I won't have it. We have to stand firm for what we believe in. Only in the most dire circumstances should a structure of historical significance be demolished.”

“But there's a blessing in everything if we open our eyes.”

“Murdering anything is just plain criminal, but a Southerner murdering a magnolia? Well, that's an unforgivable sacrilege against nautre and the South.”

“It's how we survive the hurt in life that brings us strength and gives us beauty.”

“don't grow up to fast, darling. Age is inevitable, but if you nuture a childlike heart, you'll never ever grow old.”

“Yes. Everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. it's what we do to and share with the world that matters. I believe it's important that we leave our communities in better shape than we found them.”

“It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty.”

“She glanced over her shoulder at the house, which was now bathed in a warm tint of yellow from the sun. "Yes, everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. Its what we do and share with the world that matters. I believe its important that we leave our communities in better shape that we found them. Cecelia Rose," she said, reaching for my hand, "Far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be awake to recognize them."She rested her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "If there's one thing I'd like most for you, its that you'll find your calling in life. That's where true happiness and purpose lie. Whether its taking care of abandoned animals, saving old houses from the wreckin' ball or reading to the blind, you've got to find your fire, sugar. You'll never be fulfilled if you don't.""But how will I know what my fire is?""Oh, you'll know. One day you'll do something, see something or get an idea that seems to pop up from nowhere. And you'll feel a kind of stirring- like a warm flicker inside your chest. When that happens, whatever you do, don't ignore it. Open your mind and explore the idea. Fan your flame. And when you do, you'll have found it.”

“I loved this time of night, how everything softened and lost the hard edges of day, and how, if the wind moved just right, the live oaks would murmur tender green words across the shadowy lawn. Sitting with a book in the warm circle of light from the table lamp had become my favorite way to end the day.”

“Oh Cecelia, you would have loved my grandmother, Miz Goodpepper said, dunking a cookie into her wine. She was so alive and full of original ideas, especially for that era. While other women were busy being proper, she was busy cultivating her spirit.”

“The human mind is an amazing thing. It protects us when we can't protect ourselves. Sometimes when we're holding pain and it gets to be too heavy or goes too deep, we have to give in to it, let it knock us over and pull us all the way down. Once we hit bottom, we rest in a quiet place for a while. Then, when the pain eases and we're ready to face the world again, we come right back up.”

“Now there's something else I know. You might not think you're grieving, but grief comes in all sorts of ways. There's the kind of grief that leaves you numb, and the kind of grief that rips your world in half. And then there's another kind of grief that doesn't feel like grief at all. Its like a tiny splinter you don't even know you have until it festers so deep it has nowhere left to go but into your soul. I think that's the hardest kind of grief there is because you know you're hurting but you don't know why.”

“Don't grow up too fast, Darling. Age is inevitable, but if you nurture a childlike heart, you'll never, ever grow old.”