“The task that remains is to cope with our interdependence - to see ourselves reflected in every other human being and to respect and honor our differences.”

“The effort to separate ourselves whether by race, creed, color, religion, or status is as costly to the separator as to those who would be separated.”

“They where like so many of the adults around us, content to pretend that all was well....but we knew better”

“Women never thought beyond the happy ending. We'd been taught to believe that our world revolved around securing a commitment from a man.”

“For many years, biographers and scholars, beginning with her great nephew James Austen-Leigh, presented her as a quiet, reserved, proper woman, but one has only to read her novels to realize that she was nothing so bland. Her genius, her craft, and her timeless prose are no secret, but thanks to Cassandra's scissors, most other aspects of her life will probably remain a mystery. ”

“Heartbreak is more common than happiness. No one wants to say that, but it's true. We're taught to believe not only that everyone deserves a happy ending, but that if we try hard enough, we will get one. That's simply no the case. Happy endings, life long loves, are the products of both effort and luck. We can control them, to some extent and though our feelings always seem to have a life of their own, we can at least be open to love. But, luck, the other component, well there's nothing we can do about that one. Call it God's plan or predestination or divine intervention, but we're all at its mercy. And sometimes God isn't very merciful. Jane taught me that.”

“I’m quiet for a long moment, and Velva just sits with me, waiting. She’s good at that. Just being a companion, not pushing or prodding, but waiting as if she has all the time in the world. Why is it that a woman of 94, who probably has very little time left, can be far more patient that an woman of 30 who has a lot of years ahead of her?”