1
People have to snatch at happiness when they can, in this world. It is always easier to lose than to find...Christina Baker Kline
2
Before we leave the gravesite, Mary sings Mother's favorite gospel hymn ...Mary's lovely voice rises and lingers in the air, and by the end of the song most of us are crying. I am too, though I still don't know what those stars are meant to represent. My mistake, I suppose, is in thinking they should mean something.Christina Baker Kline
3
Something inexorable seeds itself in the place of your origin. You can never escape the bonds of family history, no matter how far you travel.Christina Baker Kline
4
It's painful to hold out hope for the things that once brought you joy. You have to find ways to make yourself forget.Christina Baker Kline
5
My heart is shattered, an all that's left are jagged shards.Christina Baker Kline
6
I remember her words to me when I left school: Your mind will be your comfort. It is, sometimes. And sometimes it isn't.Christina Baker Kline
7
I couldn't have imagined how much more there was to lose.Christina Baker Kline
8
I ... am left with the lingering feeling that the places we go in our minds to find comfort have little to do with where our bodies go.Christina Baker Kline
9
The older I get, the more I believe that the greatest kindness is acceptance.Christina Baker Kline
10
To get it all done I have to dim my brain, turn it down by notches like the flat-turn knob on a gas lantern, leaving only a nub of flame.Christina Baker Kline
11
Do our natures dictate the choices we make, I wonder, or do we choose to live a certain way because of circumstances beyond our control?Christina Baker Kline
12
You can live for a long time inside the shell you were born in. But one day it'll become too small."" Then what?" I ask." Well, then you'll have to find a larger shell to live in." I consider this for a moment. "What if it's too small but you still want to live there?" She sighs. "Gracious, child, what a question. I suppose you'll either have to be brave and find a new home or you'll have to live inside a broken shell.Christina Baker Kline
13
This life of ours can feel an awful lot like waiting.Christina Baker Kline
14
I want to say, Christina, that you are ... unusual. And somehow..." her voice trails off. "Your mind-- your curiosity-- will be your comfort.Christina Baker Kline
15
How did I go from being the maiden in a fairy tale to a wretched old maids so quickly? It happened almost without my realizing it...Christina Baker Kline
16
It's a peculiar kind of dissatisfaction, a bittersweet nostalgia for a moment not yet past.Christina Baker Kline
17
I want each day to last forever .. . It's a peculiar kind of dissatisfaction, a bittersweet nostalgia for a moment not yet past. Even in the midst of a pleasurable outing I'm aware of how ephemeral it is.Christina Baker Kline
18
If you really want to know me, I said, we'll have to start with the witches.Christina Baker Kline
19
This is like telling a person who has leapt off a cliff to be careful. I am already in midair.Christina Baker Kline
20
I am acutely aware that like a slip of paper in the wind, something in his nature eludes my grasp.Christina Baker Kline
21
That man would have chipped away at your heart bit by bit until there was nothing left. It may have been bruised, but at least it's whole.Christina Baker Kline
22
It's hard to say what's in my head. It's been a long time since anyone cared to ask.Christina Baker Kline