“Everybody's heart is like a cup. They stumble from place to place and person to person, trying to get them filled. They get cracked, those cups, and even broken. Some people throw them away, thinking that it will stop the pain. Poor fools. Nobody can fill a cup but Almighty God Himself. Nobody.”

“But he was bent on making that ride, Brody, and if he hadn't gotten himself thrown that day, he'd have done it some other day. What I'm trying to get at here is that folks seem to come into this life with a list of things they need to get done while they're here inscribed on their souls. Old or young, when their work is done, they leave.”

“It’s not smart to hold yourself away from the shocks of life, the good ones or the bad. They’re all part of the mix, and paradoxically, shying away from them only makes things harder.”

“Nostalgia is a way of remembering people and places and things, and wishing things hadn't changed. It has a sweetness to it. Sadness is just--well--being sad.”

“Oh my god" Meg ranted. "Her water just broke!" Margaret" Eve said, "get a grip - and a towel. I'll be there in five minutes." (After her sister is off to the hospital and Meg comes close to hyperventalating) Shouldn't we have called an ambulance or something?" Meg fretted. Oh for heavens sakes," Eve replied. "You don't need an ambulance!" Not for me, Mother for Sierra.”

“I tell you that there are eighty-plus-year-old nudists cavorting on your property, Ashley O'Ballivan, and all you can do is laugh?”

“Courage, like so many other things, was not something one did or didn't have; it was a decision, a choice.”