37 Jodi Picoult Quotes

Jodi Picoult, an author renowned for her thought-provoking novels and compelling storytelling, has a unique ability to explore the intricate layers of human emotions and ethical dilemmas. Her words resonate deeply with readers, often prompting reflection on life's complexities and struggles. In this post, we've meticulously curated a collection of the top 37 Jodi Picoult quotes that encapsulate her profound insight and literary craftsmanship. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to her works, these quotes are sure to inspire, challenge, and move you.

1. “During the night he'd kicked off a sock; his toes were plump as early peas; it was all she could do not to taste his caramel skin. So much of the language of love was like that: you devoured someone with your eyes, you drank in the sight of him,you swallowed him whole. Love was sustenance, broken down and beating through your bloodstream.” - Jodi Picoult

2. “When feeling came back, in a storm of color and force and sensation, the most you could do was hold on to the person beside you and hope you could weather it. Alex closed her eyes and expected the worst-but it wasn't a bad thing; it was just a different thing. A messier one, more complicated one. She hesitated, and then she kissed Patrick back, willing to concede that you might have to lose control before you could find what you'd been missing.” - Jodi Picoult

3. “If you didn't remember something happening, was it because it never had happened? Or because you wished it hadn't?” - Jodi Picoult

4. “She was all the things I wasn't. And i was all the things she wasn't. she could paint circles around anyone; I couldn't even draw a straight line. She was never into sports; I've always been. Her hand, it fit mine.” - Jodi Picoult

5. “Besides the obvious difference, there was not much distinction between losing a best friend and losing a lover: it was all about intimacy. One moment, you had someone to share your biggest triumphs and fatal flaws with; the next minute, you had to keep them bottled inside. One moment, you'd start to call her to tell her a snippet of news or to vent about your awful day before realizing you did not have that right anymore; the next, you could not remember the digits of her phone number.” - Jodi Picoult

6. “I smiled at him as best I could and pushed the paper across the table before he could change his mind. Because Henry DeVille was correct - there was an ingredient in my baking more concenctrated than any extract, more pungent than any spice; an ingredient that everyone would recognize and no one was able to name: it was regret, and it rose when one least expected. ” - Jodi Picoult

7. “What if the one I choose to discount is one who has been truly hurt?” - Jodi Picoult

8. “Envy, after all, comes from wanting something that isn't yours. But grief comes from losing something you've already had.” - Jodi Picoult

9. “An oncology ward is a battlefield, and there are definite hierarchies of command. The patients, they're the ones doing the tour of duty. The doctors breeze in and out like conquering heroes, but they need to read your child's chart to remember where they've left off from the previous visit. It is the nurses who are the seasoned sergeants -- the ones who are there when your baby is shaking with such a high fever she needs to be bathed in ice, the ones who can teach you how to flush a central venous catheter, or suggest which patient floor might still have Popsicles left to be stolen, or tell you which dry cleaners know how to remove the stains of blood and chemotherapies from clothing. The nurses know the name of your daughter's stuffed walrus and show her how to make tissue paper flowers to twine around her IV stand. The doctors may be mapping out the war games, but it is the nurses who make the conflict bearable.” - Jodi Picoult

10. “You can make it dark, but I can't make it light.” - Jodi Picoult

11. “It's like the psychiatrists themselves are buying into that stupid belief that therapy is something to hide.” - Jodi Picoult

12. “Coop kissed me deeply, drawing my breath from me in a long, sweet ribbon. "Perhaps I haven't mentioned it, but I'm an expert when it comes to first steps."Are you," I said. "Then tell me how."You close your eyes," Coop answered, "and jump.” - Jodi Picoult

13. “Until this moment, I had not realized that someone could break your heart twice, along the very same fault lines.” - Jodi Picoult

14. “I think you're the only person who gets me. When I'm with you, the world doesn't feel like a problem I can't figure out. Please come to the dance, because you're my music.” - Jodi Picoult

15. “Clearly God was in some kind of mood on my birthday.” - Jodi Picoult

16. “An item that looks perfectly normal on the surface might only be disguised.” - Jodi Picoult

17. “She puts her hands on either side of my face, and the room falls away. I have never gotten so lost in a kiss before. And then, the space between us explodes. My heart keeps missing beats and my hands cannot bring her close enough to me. I taste her and realize I have been starving. I have loved before, but it didn't feel like this.I have kissed before, but it didn't burn me alive. Maybe it lasts a minute, and maybe it's an hour. All I know is that kiss, and how soft her skin is when it brushes against mine, and that even if I did not know it until now, I have been waiting for this person forever.” - Jodi Picoult

18. “You know, he told me once, completely exasperated, you've got one glass of water inside your head, with all the tears for a lifetime. If you waste them over nothing, then you won't be able to cry for real when you need to.” - Jodi Picoult

19. “Edward: You know what the difference is between a dream and a goal? he used to say to me. A plan.” - Jodi Picoult

20. “Cara: I used to believe everything my brother told me, because he was older and I figured he knew more about the world. But as it turns out, being a grown-up doesn't mean you're fearless. It just means you fear different things.” - Jodi Picoult

21. “There's got to be a moment when that baby [flying] squirrel looks from the end of one branch to the tree six feet away and thinks twice about making a leap. Falling in love is no different; it's the moment that we close our eyes and throw away everything that seems reasonable and hope to God there's someone or something waiting to catch us on the other side.” - Jodi Picoult

22. “Like a missing tooth, sometimes an absence is more noticeable than a presence.” - Jodi Picoult

23. “This is why there was music. There were some feelings that just didn't have words big enough to describe them.” - Jodi Picoult Samantha Van Leer

24. “People believed what they wanted to believe, no matter what was right in front of their eyes.” - Jodi Picoult

25. “Love is a tidal wave--not because it sweeps you off your feet, but because it pulls you down and drowns you.” - Jodi Picoult Samantha Van Leer

26. “As she gets sicker, she fades a little more, until I am afraid one day I will wake up and not be able to see her at all.” - Jodi Picoult

27. “I sometimes wonder if it's just me, or if there are other women who figure out where they're supposed to be by going nowhere.” - Jodi Picoult

28. “In books, you always know what's coming next. There are no surprises.” - Jodi Picoult

29. “I find myself staring at the goldfish. Bright as a penny, he swims in circles, happy to be going nowhere.” - Jodi Picoult

30. “I'd try to stuff myself into one of these scenarios, but it's like wearing a size five sneaker when your foot is a seven--you can get by for a few steps, and then you sit down and pull off the shoe because it just plain hurts too much.” - Jodi Picoult

31. “Don't say it. Don't say nobody's going to stare at me, because they will. Don't tell me it doesn't matter because it does. And don't tell me I look fine because that's a lie. I'm a freak, Mom. Look at me.” - Jodi Picoult

32. “There are some nights when you just want to know there's someone else besides you in this wide world.” - Jodi Picoult

33. “My father looked right at me, but he didn't answer. And his eyes were dazed and staring through me, like I was made out of smoke.That was the first time I thought that maybe I was.” - Jodi Picoult

34. “I hadn't been thinking, actually. I was just trying to get to a place where I'd be noticed.” - Jodi Picoult

35. “With my heart racing, I ran in the other direction; leaving the rest of this rescue to people who actually want to be heroes.” - Jodi Picoult

36. “I pick up a pen and start to unscrew the whole thing, pull out the skinny little tube of blue ink. It would be so cool to have one of these built inside you, like a squid; you could point your finger and leave your mark on anything you wanted.” - Jodi Picoult

37. “[There's a] point where you have to leave the dough alone. It's silly to anthropomorphize bread, but I love the fact that it needs to sit quietly, to retreat from touch and noise and drama, in order to evolve. I have to admit, I often feel that way myself.” - Jodi Picoult