Quotes from Susan Mallery

Less than four percent of foster kids graduate with a college degree, compared to 46 percent in the general population. And don't get me started on the number of young women who end up pregnant by age twenty-one.

Sanctimonious

When the salad was finished, she

Grief is natural, but when left alone it grows into something bigger. Something that steals hope. You shut down and no one gets in. The walls get bigger.

Darrelyn had told her to simply observe her children. To listen without judgment. That was her homework for this week. To take her medication, to count to ten before allowing herself to wash her hands and to listen.

Quiet had a restful quality. In quiet, she could find peace.

I'm saying you're comfortable. That makes it hard to do the work that change requires.

My grandma taught me a lot of dirty tricks. I know places to dig in a knuckle and make a grown man scream like a little girl.

Being happy or not is up to you. A man can't make a woman happy. It's like asking a cat to grow wings. It's not in their nature. Happiness is in here.

I have life experience. Learn from my mistakes. Don't have regrets. They're a painful thing, and they never go away.

From the outside, it wasn't much. But to her it was everything she needed. A place to retreat and lick her wounds. Somewhere she didn't have to pretend. Sanctuary.

better than nothing" didn't seem like a goal that would make anyone happy.

There was no quiet, delicate crying, only body-wrenching sobs that clawed at her soul and left her with nothing but a sense of emptiness that she was afraid would never go away.

Cats should only have canned food. They don't have a strong instinct to drink water and dry food gives them kidney problems

When I was in a relationship, I was faithful." "I have no proof of that." The smile faded. "I wouldn't do that. I don't get the point. If someone's unhappy, talk about it. If you can't fix it, man up and be honest about wanting to leave.

Love heals. Love makes us better than we ever thought we could be. Loving someone, the act of loving, is a generous gift. True love is our greatest calling. Not just romantic love, but all love.

As for Mr. Right—Charity wasn't looking for perfect. She just wanted a nice guy who loved her as much as she loved him. Oh, and a man who was single, honest and faithful. Characteristics depressingly hard to find on the dating scene—at least in her experience.

What she hadn't counted on was the fact that she couldn't see a way out. Which would have been something she could manage if only she'd been able to pretend that she wasn't the problem. Because her being the problem implied the only thing standing between her and happiness was herself, and how on earth was she supposed to fix that?

You care more than you think and I can't help but wonder if that's the real problem.

Once I got into a relationship, the rules changed. I'm always faithful." She raised her eyebrows. "Seriously?" "Never cheated once. I wasn't tempted. I always figured if I was interested in someone enough to want to sleep with her, then there were problems with my current relationship. So I either fixed those or ended things.

Don't have regrets. They're a painful thing, and they never go away.

Heather thought about how in her day, everyone would have assumed he had a crush on Layla and let it go. Amusing for the adults, but leaving Layla being tormented.

and drive up with you.

Love is always enough.