“I feel like a von Trapp," Ruby said between puffs, "But fatter, older and with absolutely no energy for singing.”

“You'll beat this. I know it doesn't feel like it, but you will. You're a survivor.""I don't want to survive it.""I know that, too," Nell had said. "And it's fair enough. But sometimes we don't have a choice...”

“...as I already said, they didn't look like much--but beauty's in the eye of the beholder, isn't it?”

“Bitte nehmen sie zur Kenntnis, dass es für Niedergeschlagenheit in diesem Haus keinen Platz gibt und die Möglichkeit eines Scheiterns nicht in Betracht gezogen wird. Wir leugnen die Existenz von beidem.”

“A brisk wind wove through the bushes, twirling the leaves so that their pale undersides fluttered towards the sun. Like children thrust suddenly into the spotlight, flitting between nerves and self-importance.”

“A twinge at the edge of her lips and she continued, the soft, slow lilt of recitation: "Ancient walls that sing the distant hours.”

“Das ging ihr häufig so mit alten Fotos; sie war schließlich die Tochter ihrer Mutter, und die lächelnden Gesichter von Menschen, die nich nichts davon ahnten, was das Schicksal für sie bereithielt, hatten etwas schrecklich Ernüchterndes.”