Quotes from Kristin Hannah

For the whole of their lives he'd been like one of the apple trees on this property. Sturdy and dependable.

Remember this, she thought. The way the light caught in his unruly hair, the love in his brown eyes, the chapped lips that had kissed her only an hour ago, in the darkness.

Memories are who we are, Tul. In the end, that's all the luggage you take with you. Love and memories are what last. That's why your life flashes before your eyes when you die—you're picking the memories you want. It's like packing.

I look at him, loving this child of mine and knowing my death will devastate him. I don't want him to watch me die by degrees. I don't want that for his daughters, either. I know what it is like; some images, once seen, can never be forgotten. I want them to remember me as I am, not as I will be when the cancer has had its way.

You hang on," her mother said. "Until your hands are bleeding, and still you do not let go.

Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower; We will grieve not; rather find strength in what remains behind. —WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, ODE:

Abuse can make an animal mean.

You are of me, Loreda, in a way that can never be broken. Not by words or anger or actions or time. I love you.

Maybe time didn't heal wounds exactly, but it gave you a kind of armor, or a new perspective. A way to remember with a smile instead of a sob.

From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs

Will ya look at it?" Dad threw his arms wide, as if he wanted to embrace it all. He seemed to be growing before their eyes, like a tree, spreading branches wide, becoming strong. He liked the nothingness he saw, the vast emptiness. It was what he'd come for.

Hope is a fragile thing, easily broken if handled too much.

we try to knit our lives together, dropped stitches and all. Maybe that's what love is.

Alaska brings out the best and the worst in a man. Maybe if you'd stayed Outside you never would have become who you are now. I know about 'Nam, and it breaks my heart what you boys went through. But you can't handle the dark, can you? It's nothing to be ashamed of. Most folks can't. Accept it and do what's best for your family.

He saw her beauty...but he looked past it. Either that, or he was smart enough to see that she wanted to offer more to the world than a pretty face.

I love you," he said quietly. "I love you, too." The word felt too small, too ordinary to contain all of this emotion.

As mothers and daughters, we are connected with one another. My mother is in the bones of my spine, keeping me straight and true. She is in my blood, making sure it runs rich and strong. She is in the beating of my heart. I cannot now imagine a life without her.

Don't take peace for granted. It can shatter like glass.

There's no substitute for talking to the people you love. Thinking about them, dreaming about them, wishing things were different

A daughter without her mother is a woman broken. It is a loss that turns to arthritis and settles deep in her bones. This I know now.

In literature, death was many things—a message, catharsis, retribution

Once you'd learned how bad life could go, and how quickly, you tried to protect those who remained.

Night swept in like nothing Leni had ever seen before, like the winged shadow of a creature too big and predatory to comprehend.

Leni heard her mother start to cry, and somehow that made it worse, as if her tears watered this ugliness, made it grow.