“I liked the way he handled himself in the kitchen. I like men who cook. Men who cook are generally good lovers.”

“I was in awe of him. I didn't speak; I listened.”

“I am anxious. I am always anxious. I should change my name to Anxiety Dickinson. I am anxious about my little sister. My big sister. My mother. Myself. Life. I am anxious about what to wear, what to eat, what to say, how to breathe.”

“I was in that dark, self-destructive place. I was up one minute, down the next. Soaring and crashing and crashing and soaring; the roller coaster from hell.”

“By now the two men were tied securely to their chairs. Powerscourt found he could just about move his arms. If there was a deus out there somewhere, he said to himself, he wished he would hurry up and get out of his machina.”

“WisdomI who have decided to love mankindinstead of men,to love life’s contradictions,impossibilities.I who have grown into a fine oldphilosopher, when suddenlythe telephone rings, his voiceprickling the length of my neck.Or he teases me, calls mesweet little gooseand my heart careens.What we love in anotheris the life in that person;that is why we must neverseek to possess him.sweet little goose”

“I thought back to that precious moment ... when he'd first pulled me into his arms. How strong I'd felt. That same feeling of strength had washed over me afresh when Twila and the other Splendora sisters prayed with me. And now, as I watched my parents embrace, I realized the truth: there really is strength in numbers. No matter what I faced in this life, I could handle it with the people I loved surrounding me.”