“Sometimes it is a relief to be invisible”

“Nobody bothered with him. His failures were private and invisible”

“Relief is a short-lived emotion, passive and thin. The agony of doubt disappears, leaving little memory of how it really felt. Life aligns behind the new truth.”

“Lena knew she had spent too much of her life in a state of passive dread, just waiting for something bad to happen. In a life like that, relief was as close as you got to happiness. ”

“Healing wasn’t always the best thing. Sometimes a hole was better left open. Sometimes it healed too thick and too well and left separate pieces fused and incompetent. And it was harder to reopen after that.”

“Sometimes he felt sure that the key to happiness was a poor memory.”

“Sometimes you need to make a mess.-Loretta, the Rollinses' hosekeeper”