Nancy Werlin

“Lucy had to guard her reputation - her reputation for sanity - the way that a woman a hundred years before would have had to guard her reputation for virtue.”

“I walked out. I left. Andy Jankowski had taught me how.”

“Okay, I wasn't getting something, by there was nothing I could do about it. I wasn't the Buddha. I couldn't have a vision. Unless, maybe, it was drug-induced.”

“Jews put black over mirrors during times os mourning so they wouldn't think about themselves. But I never did look in mirrors anyway, because I disliked myself. No, wait. I disliked my appearance.”

“It was any outcast's nightmare.If I looked carefully, I suspected I might find it beneath the black paint of the small acrylic by the window.”

“Continued pain is a signal to the body that there's something wrong, not right.Lucy ScarboroughNancy Werlin”

“You can be special without being extraordinary.”

“Music links us humans, heart to heart...Across time and space, and life and death.”

“No. It's actually not okay. And I hate when people say that, when they say it's okay even though it's not. It's better to tell the truth.”

“Always remember: In the end, the surviver gets to tell the story.”

“When you first fall in love, it's supposed to be awful. Awful, uncertain, scary, wonderful, confusing, all at once. That's how you know it's real. You have to care deeply. Passionately. That hurts.”

“Such a bad mistake it would be, to embark on marriage and adult life without a nice supply of duct tape.”

“I think you have a right to whine. Honestly, Lucy. We all have the right to whine when life gets tough.”

“It is absolutely okay with me if you need to keep some secrets. I've been thinking about this and I decided that a best friend is someone who, when they don't understand, they still understand.”

“The human instinct for self-preservation is strong. I know, because mine pulls at me, too, like the needle on a compass. And everybody - I've been reading some philosophy - everybody seems to agree that the instinct and responsibility of all humans is to take care of themselves first. You have the right to self-defense. You have the right to survive, if you can.”

“Was true love when you wanted to slap someone and kiss him madly at the same time?”

“Anyone in this world can have the power of life and death over someone else. It's horrible, but true. All you need to do is take it. And once you have -- there is no going back. (The Killer's Cousin)”

“People who're nuts never doubt their own sanity. (The Killer's Cousin)”

“SCARBOROUGH FAIR, or, THE LOVER'S PROMISE(Lucy:)Are you going to Scarborough Fair?Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeRemember me to one who lives thereAlways he'll be a true love of mineTell him I've made him a magical shirtParsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeWithout any seam or needlework Always he'll be a true love of mine(Zach:)Tell her she's found me an acre of landParsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeBetween the salt water and the sea strandThat makes her a true love of mineTell her she's plowed it with just a goat's hornParsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeShe's sowed it all over with one grain of cornYes, she is a true love of mineAnd her daughter forever a daughter of mine(Together:)Are you going to Scarborough Fair?Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeRemember us to all who live thereOurs will be true love for all time”

“THE ELFIN KNIGHTAre you going to Scarborough Fair?Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeRemember me to one who lives thereShe must be a true love of mineTell her she'll sleep in a goose-feather bedParsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeTell her I sear she'll have nothing to dreadShe must be a true love of mineTell her tomorrow her answer make knownParsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeWhat e'er she may say I'll not leave her aloneShe must be a true love of mineHer answer came in a week and a dayParsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeI'm sorry good sir, I must answer thee nayI'll not be a true love of thineFrom the sting of my curse she can never be freeParsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeUnless she unravels my riddlings threeShe will be a true love of mineTell her to make me a magical shirtParsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeWithout any seam or needleworkElse she'll be a true love of mineTell her to find me an acre of landParsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeBetween the salt water and the sea strandElse she'll be a true love of mineTell her to plow it with just a goat's hornParsley, sage, rosemary, and thymeAnd sow it all over with one grain of cornElse she'll be a true love of mineAnd her daughters forever possessions of mine”

“There is nothing in this world that I want or need, but you.”

“Emmy, the events we lived through taught me to be sure of nothing about other people. They taught me to expect danger around every corner. They taught me to understand that there are people in this world that mean you harm, And sometimes, they're the people who say they love you.”

“Sometimes the people who mean you harm, are the ones that say they love you.”

“From all of us Scarborough girls, greetings and thanks. This task required two, working together, trusting each other. It required the "us," not the "I." For that is true love, is it not?”

“Besides, Southerners are hospitable. They'll probably offer me lemonade."Excuse me? You're going to sit on a porch and drink lemonade while I plow a swamp with a goat's horn?"Yes, ma'am. And I aim to wear my seamless shirt while you do it.”

“It's just that, right now, I want to hear you promise me that if we do run out of time and I go mad, like Miranda, it ends with me. The curse ends here, because our baby will be safe. You will make that happen. Isn't that so?"It took him a minute. "Yes," he said finnally. "It's so. Although, if we're just going to talk about the baby, I can think of an easier way to save her."Oh? What?"I'd just lock her up from her sixteenth birthday on."Lucy didn't laugh. "Don't think I haven't thought of that too, love. but here's the thing. That parents try that in all the fairy tales. It never works.”

“Zach found himself remembering something he'd heard Soledad and Leo saying the previous night, about healing. That it was mysterious. That it took time. And that Lucy was just at the beginning. That a terrible thing had happened - two terrible things, really - but they were now over.And that Lucy would be okay, in the end.”

“Nothing that had happened in the past could be taken away. This was an amazing gift. The past was done and over and settled; you couldn't get it back, but still, whatever good you had gotten from it, spiritually, emotionally, would be yours for your lifetime.”

“I've never felt just like me, just like Alison. I can't be myself in this family because it's more important that I be... this person who's not... Adam. Who's normal. Smart. Good. Who's not... Autistic.”

“Leo and Soledad simultaneously gave out a sort of half laugh, half snort. It was loud, and it was relieved, and it broke the tension and caused Pierre to bark again, indignantly.All of which meant that neither of them heard it when Zach turned to Lucy in that same second and whispered:There's something else you need to know. I'm not just your friend. I am completely in love with you.”

“We formed the fellowship of the ring when we should've all just gone on medication”

“But just now, he'd gotten on his knees and proposed marriage, like in a television commercial for a diamond ring. Except of course they had the roll of duct tape instead, which, when you came to think about it, was a far more practical item. Such a bad mistake it would be, to embark on marriage and adult life without a nice supply of duct tape.”

“I'm not saying I'm glad it happened. Not exactly. But I'm not sorry to be the person I am today, and to have the life I have now. Even though it's not what I thought I wanted for my future, a year ago, it is what I want now. ...”

“When you're living your life in endurance mode, you don't expect anything good to happen. I'm not saying that you don't dream about some miracle that would change everything for the better. But you pretty much know it's only a fantasy, and that you have no real control over anything.”

“ MATTHEW'S RULES OF SURVIVAL1. Sometimes, the people who mean you harm are the ones who say they love you.2. Fear is your friend. When you feel it, act.3. Protect the little ones.4. If you coped before, you can cope now.5. Always remember: In the end, the survivor gets to tell the story.”