Quotes from Elin Hilderbrand

You're human and human beings make mistakes and act in all kinds of ways we shouldn't.

You know what they say about hitting yourself over the head with a hammer, she would tell Mamie. It feels good when you stop.

breath—the last thing

You will never, ever understand how much I love you…until you have children of your own and then every word I've ever said will make perfect sense.

nothing took precedence over reading; it was considered the holiest activity a person could engage in.

but she has come to the chilling conclusion that we are all alone in our bodies. Irrefutably, immutably alone.

She opened the tin to show Candace the dark red strands, a fortune in her palm, dearer than this much caviar, this many shaved truffles; it was for spices like this that Columbus had set out in his ship. "Each strand is handpicked from the center of a crocus flower that blooms two weeks of the year.

collaborating with Grace. It was more

Motherhood, she has come to realize, requires a lot of math: How much space is enough; how much is too much?)

I will never be disappointed if you strike out swinging. That means you tried.

Leland had once read an interview with Toni Morrison where the author said she regretted a third of her life. Leland's percentage was running a bit higher than that.

the inside of the shell, the swirls of blue and purple—wampum, what used to be traded like money.

isn't religious but she does have an immutable sense of right and wrong and

Sex is ephemeral. Once it's over, it's over. Sex is not a lasting connection; it's only real while it's happening. It's not love.

He believes that if you agree to do something you'd rather not do for someone else's sake, then you should do it graciously, with some enthusiasm, like a good sport.

For time and space and love and laughter, I have to thank my own home team: my husband, Chip Cunningham, who has, over the past nineteen years, made all of my dreams come true; my all-star son Maxx Cunningham (who gets his first cameo in one of Mom's books); my son Dawson "the Dawg" Cunningham, who is coming out on top; and my radiant daughter, Shelby Cunningham.

Andrea ripped her paperback in half and gave Delilah the beginning while she finished the end.

What is the most important lesson of all? Perseverance? Honesty? Forgiveness? Love?

The Vineyard is a great place to live… until you screw up.

Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah

aspiring fashionista, a dedicated jogger, a world explorer, an enthusiastic foodie, and a grateful three-year

parents didn't stop loving their children for any reason. Love, then, Connie decided. The most important lesson is love.

William Carlos Williams? "This Is Just to Say"—yes, Dabney had always loved that poem. In the years of Agnes's growing up, a copy of the poem had been taped to the refrigerator door. It was an apology poem—forgive me, they were delicious, so sweet and so cold. Box was holding out the plum and a bottle of chilled Perrier with a silly grin on his face. Celerie

solid midwestern pragmatism. Circle of life and all that.