“Now all white Southern women keep as a weapon against uncouth world a certain smile that can be whipped out of storage and tacked up, in an instant, covering over a multitude of too-candid moments. My mother's face, whose upturned mouth never moved, registered confusion, then fear-then landed where I expected that steely doggedly cheerful resolve of a smile.”

“You've had a tough crack at life, I'll give you that. But you don't got to let the bad thrown at you become the ugly you think you got to be.”

“When you find yourself wanting a better moment -wanting something else in the future- it can be helpful to ask: What will that give me? We think we will finally be happy when that moment arrives. What we discover when we do get what we want is that even that wonderful moment disappears. Life keeps moving on, bringing us a mixture of what we like and don't like. Why not like- love - it all because it won't be here for long, it will never be this way again, and it's all you've got.”

“We are not dead!"He could hear the smile, even in her answering yell. "Certainly we are. It is only that our bodies have not yet learned the truth.”

“If you were determined to get enjoyment out of every moment, you would learn to do whatever it took. What it takes is not listening to negative thoughts, yours or anyone else's. Disregarding negative thoughts isn't hiding our head in the sand, but simply not allowing the negative to clutter and influence over our experience of the present moment. The moment is never improved or helped by negativity, although we are programmed to think our negative thoughts, worries, and fears serve a useful function. When you really examine this idea, however, you see that negativity doesn't serve. Focusing on negativity and fears doesn't make anyone a better person, nor does doing that help us function better in the world. In fact, the truth is quite the opposite.”

“I miss the thoughts of you now...For in my head they over ran.But now, on unpretentious grounds...There's a grave with unearthed sand.You brought the color to my world,When I was content living in gray.But, now those colors are too bright,They tarnish all that they portray.I miss the thought of you, more than you...Because my thoughts left you unblemished.And I held on to them; with tenacious grip...But, like your honor, they diminished.For while my heart was sentient...You drug my name through the mire...And now when thoughts of you arise...They're just cinder in the fire.I miss the thoughts of you now...For in my head, you were amended...But, now in your place, Is a nameless face...Of a man who has descended.”

“Holding a hand over my eyes, I look up at him. "Thanks, I'm glad were...friends." I say the word friends deliberately, letting the emphasis get my point across. His mouth curves with a slow smile. "I've never wanted to be your friend, Jacinda." My heart stutters in my chest. Standing in the pouring rain, I watch him walk away.”