“Her lips twitched when she quietly read.But if you fall I will be there To pick the pieces of your shattered soul“Shattered,” she murmured to herself. “Shattered soul? Isn’t that too serious? No, I think he will get it.” She continued to write. And put them back togetherI will solder them into a wholeWith the heat of my love I will stay. I will hold the time still.”

“I knew by then that I would never have my mother back, not in the way I had known her all my life. When you have seen your mother shattered, there's no putting her back together. There will always be seams, chipped edges, and clumps of dried glue. Even if you could get her to where she looks the same, she will never be stronger than a cracked plate.”

“Right now the nightmares were in her waking hours so she needed to stay asleep. She was broken. Shattered. Devastated. Crushed. There was nothing left of the woman she had been. She could see it in her eyes. When she was awake she had to acknowledge her brokenness. She had to admit to herself that she might never be fixed. It was too much to think about. Her boy had to come back and, until he did, she needed to stay in her dreams.”

“After a moment, she said, "Yes. I think she will be good for you.""You do?" He couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice."Si." She smiled grimly. "She will break your heart and leave you shattered and alone." She paused to think that over, then nodded approvingly to herself. "It will make you a man.”

“I can still see her face -- The sorrow in her eyes, her voice, as she condemns me. I didn't know it was possible to feel such shame. To feel so sick at heart.I'm lost inside, my soul -- all that I thought I was, and am, and ever will be -- shattered, cast to the winds.Compared to this, death is a mercy.”

“Everyone always said that love was enough. It wasn't. Not when your soul was shattered.”