“In every person's story there are unknowns-struggles only they know about, fears they've tried to overcome but still harbor, disappointments & sorrows they bear. The last thing any of us wants-or needs-is to be judged by others who don't know our stories, in part or at all.”

“Our stories are all we have. The only thing that can save us is to learn each other's stories. From beginning to end....For every life we know, we are expanded.”

“I wondered if the person who really loves you is the person who knows all your stories, the person who WANTS to know all your stories.”

“There's a story behind every person..There's a reason why they're the way they are. They aren't just like that because they want to be. Something in the past created them, and sometimes it's impossible to fix. You need to understand and try to change the way you think about them. Remember, sometimes you only know their name, not their story and we can't push people to tell us their story.”

“We hug, but there are no tears. For every awful thing that's been said and done, she is my sister. Parents die, daughters grow up and marry out, but sisters are for life. She is the only person left in the world who shares my memories of our childhood, our parents, our Shanghai, our struggles, our sorrows, and, yes, even our moments of happiness and triumph. My sister is the one person who truly knows me, as I know her. The last thing May says to me is 'When our hair is white, we'll still have our sister love.”

“Once you know the end of the story, every part of the story contains that end, and is only a way of reaching it.”