“Because the truth wouldn't be comforting and wouldn't bring them closer again.”

“She was never going to be the kind of person who didn't stick out in all directions. To want it was the same as hating herself. That was the truth. She breathed those words. She could have repeated them a hundred times and they wouldn't have hurt any worse. Reality was stubborn for sure, but it was large and it had possibilities. It was a sweet relief when you let it come.”

“She cared about him too much, and he was a dangerous person to love. He wouldn't love her back.”

“He'd pushed her. He'd scared her. He'd besieged her. He'd vowed he wouldn't, and he did.”

“Sometimes you couldn’t face the sadness of being forgotten until you felt the comfort of being remembered again.”

“She'd put the envelope Tibby had left for her unopened in her underwear drawer. At first it was so she would see it there, and then she tried to cover it so she wouldn't see it there, but it turned out her underwear was too flimsy to cover anything.”

“Tibby's wish would be to hold on to the idea of love even in the face of darkest doubt. Because that was the way in which she failed. Not once, but again and again.”