“Zoe loved Trancas's mother. She respected her exhausted and ironic hope for rebirth.”

“What part did she give you?" Zoe asked her mother."Mary, the mother of God.""Talk about miscasting," Nelia said.”

“He wondered whether he really liked his mother. But she was his mother and this fact was recognized by everybody as meaning automatically that he loved her, and so he took for granted that whatever he felt for her was love. He did not know whether there was any reason why he should respect her judgment. She was his mother; this was supposed to take the place of reasons.”

“A wise mother knows: It is her state of consciousness that matters. Her gentleness and clarity command respect. Her love creates security.”

“Always respect Mother Nature. Especially when she weighs 400 pounds and is guarding her baby.”

“abuelita speaks no english. she doesn't need to, zoe thinks. her smile fills and communicates so much more than the empty, half-said words of zoe's life. ”