“Trying to fall out of love is like trying to climb a mountain. Blindfolded, on crutches, naked in a hail storm.”

“You can count your days or make your days count for something. The choice is yours.”

“Sometimes you're the princess. Sometimes you're the pea.”

“Wishes float where hope leaves off.”

“I tried out the unfamiliar syllables. They fit. They cracked in my ears like a fist through ice.”

“Without thinking, I knelt in the grass, like someone meaning to pray. When I tried to stand again, I couldn't move,my legs were utterly rigid. Does grief change you like that?Through the birches, I could see the pond.The sun was cutting small white holes in the water.I got up finally; I walked down to the pond. I stood there, brushing the grass from my skirt, watching myself,like a girl after her first loverturning slowly at the bathroom mirror, naked, looking for a sign.But nakedness in women is always a pose.I was not transfigured. I would never be free. ”

“She picked up her book and tried to read but it was heavy in her hands. She struggled to hold it, wanting to finish the story, wanting to know how it ended. She was afraid she'd run out of time before she ran out of book.”