“Happy Charlotte, who, though greatly troubled over things that did not matter, seemed oblivious to things that did...”

“Jesus! Did I SAY that? Or just think it? Was I talking? Did they hear me? I glanced over at my attorney, but he seemed oblivious...”

“Women often seemed to leave things unsaid, and in his limited experience it was what they did not say that proved the most trouble.”

“...[he] understood that some things mattered and some things did not and that the happy people in this world were those who could easily and rapidly distinguish between the two. The term unhappiness referred to the feeling of taking the wrong things seriously.”

“The generation that followed did not have the same concerns; none of its members attempted to follow the example of the past generation. There was no longer anyone with the noble determination to get to know the great men of the world, or if there were some individuals consumed with this curiosity, they were few in number. From then on, there remained only vulgar minds given over to hatred, envy and discord, who took an interest only in things which did not concern them, gossip, slander, calumny of one's neighbors, all those things which are the source of the worst of our troubles.”

“He cocked his head to the side. "Did he die well?""He died screaming." Charlotte's bluntness startled Tessa."What a beautiful thing to hear.”