“Why shouldn't I hate her? She did the worst thing to me that anyone can do to anyone else. Let them believe that they're loved and wanted and then show them that it's all a sham.”

“You know,” I said to him. “Pining isn't attractive. On anyone. ... The worst thing you can do if you miss or need someone is let them know it.”

“Do you like Mother and Father?" "they're both all right""they're not Jimmy, and you shouldn't say so. I hate them, and you should hate them.""all right" I said, "I hate them.”

“You can't choose someone else's destiny for them, Kelley. And you shouldn't let anyone choose yours.”

“Mothers, I believe, intoxicate us. We idolize them and take them for granted. We hate them and blame them and exalt them more thoroughly than anyone else in our lives. We sift through the evidence of their love, reassure ourselves of their affection and its biological genesis. We can steal and lie and leave and they will love us.”

“She wants to know if I love her, that's all anyone wants from anyone else, not love itself but the knowledge that love is there, like new batteries in the flashlight in the emergency kit in the hall closet.”