“Stories are rarely only stories”

“When everything else is in ruins, family is all we have. And God, of course.”

“False assurances were certainly more harmful than none at all.”

“No guts, no story.”

“Just because something is told as a story and that story is part legend or myth, or feat of imagination, does not mean there is no truth in it.”

“Our stories are the tellers of us.”

“After all, it was only a story,' I said, determined to prove her wrong. 'All manner of terrible things may happen in a story. They may be startling at the time, but it passes. One gets caught up in the narrative, but the dangers aren't real, are they? Things happen in any way the storyteller chooses. It is all just made up.”