“The dedication of passwords was the new fellowship of marriage. To each other, couples had become furtive asterisks”

“In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive. Don’t insist on your rights, don’t blame each other, don’t judge or condemn each other, don’t find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts…”

“Couples take care of each other, Clare, that's what makes them a couple. And couples tell each other when something happens that scares them.”

“You can usually tell when a couple becomes centered on each other because they are forever breaking up and getting back together.”

“We are injured and angry, scared and sad. Some families, like some couples, become toxic to each other after prolonged exposure.”

“She wasn't, nor ever had been, under the illusion that marriage was a relationship characterized by endless bliss and romance. Throw any two people together, add the inevitable ups and downs, give the mixture a vigorous stir, and a few stormy arguments were inevitable, no matter how the couple loved each other.”