“Beyond a certain point, that was all a mother could do for her children - Hang around long enough to drive them crazy.”

“There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood. The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation.”

“Maybe you could drive yourself crazy trying to chart backward all the causes and effects, all the ends and means, tracing everything to some original sin that may or may not have actually occurred but that people accepted as true, or true enough. Maybe staring into the eyes of all that history was a dangerous thing to do, as her mother had calmly warned her. Maybe you were supposed to move forward armed with just enough history to help you figure out the present without obsessing over the past. But how much was enough? Where was the gray area between ignorance and obsession?”

“You could have all the crazy thoughts you wanted, as long as you smiled and kept them to yourself.”

“Beyond a certain point there is no return. This point has to be reached.”

“The most insane things can become normal if you have them around you long enough. A mind can’t seem to hold anything too crazy for too long without finding a way to make it seem normal.”