“I moved my arms through the water, feeling them float on the surface, watching the waves and wake that followed my gesture. Here was magic, I thought. Here was something holy.”

“My heart is a ladle of sweet water brimming over.”

“I had Benia's hands, Meryt's friendship, the feel of newborn flesh, the smiles of new mothers, a little girl who laughed in my kitchen, a house of my own. It was more than enough.”

“5. My husband's words found their mark, and I recalled something that Zilpah had told me when I was a child in the red tent, and far too young to understand her meaning. “We are all born of the same mother,” she said. After a lifetime, I knew that to be true.”

“I pray I die before they day comes when I do not know if my sons are infants or grandfathers.”

“One of my great secrets was knowing I had the power to make her smile.”

“The hills in the distance held my life in a bowl filled with everything I could possibly want.”