“I know how loud the seconds can sound as you stand by a window and peer out into the night.”

“Only Gracie knew what it was like to wake up at night and feel how cold sheets can get on the empty side of a bed.”

“When you don't know enough about life to know what you might have missed out on, your imagination plays wicked tricks on you.”

“Sometimes, in the dark of night, when no one else could hear him but me, he'd cry out, like he was fighting some silent little war in his head.”

“Sometimes you need to be touched to know you're still alive.”

“Who the hell ain't dysfunctional these days? When the Kennedys straighten out, then maybe the rest of us should worry.”

“Mattie felt drained, as though someone had stood her on her head and poured her entire heart and soul right out of her body.”