Quotes from Nicholas Sparks

Does trust have to be earned. Or is it simply a matter of faith?

For a moment, I wondered how different my life would have been had they been my parents, but I shook the thought away. I knew my father had done the best he could, and I had no regrets about the way I'd turned out. Regrets about the journey, maybe, but not the destination. Because however it had happened, I'd somehow ended up eating shrimp in a dingy downtown shack with a girl that I already knew I'd never forget.

And I learned what is obvious to a child. That life is simply a collection of little lives, each lived one day at a time. That each day should be spent finding beauty in flowers and poetry and talking to animals. That a day spent with dreaming and sunsets and refreshing breezes cannot be bettered.

Little girls. They could melt the toughest hearts.

That's what courage is. If she weren't scared, she wouldn't need courage in the first place. -Jo

I wish I had the talent to paint the way I feel about you, for my words always feel inadequate. I imagine using red for your passion and pale blue for your kindness; forest green to reflect the depth of your empathy and bright yellow for your unflagging optimism. And still I wonder: can even an artist's palette capture the full range of what you mean to me?

It hadn't been so long ago, yet sometimes she felt that she'd been an altogether different person back then.

You were honest and hardworking and kind. You were polite and patient and more mature than any guy I'd dated before. And when we were together, you listened in a way that made me feel like I was the only woman in the world. You made me feel complete and spending time with you just seemed right.

Love can sometimes achieve the impossible

Love is sustained by action, a pattern of devotion in the things we do for each other every day.

I know you miss me terribly. I miss you, too. But we still have each other, for I am - and always have been - part of you. You carry me in your heart, just as I carried you in mine, and nothing can ever change that. I love you, my darling, and you love me. Hold on to that feeling. Hold on to us. And little by little, you will find a way to heal.

Everything a baby does strikes a parent as the most magical thing he/she has ever seen.

Friends come and go, clothing is packed and unpacked, households are continually purged of unnecessary items, and as a result, not much sticks. it's hard at times but it makes a kid strongs in ways that most people can't understand. Teaches them that even though people are left behind, new ones will inevitably take their place; that every place has something good and bad to offer. It makes a kid grow up fast.

It was easy to idealize someone you barely knew.

Some things were beyond understanding.

Jamie: You have to promise you won't fall in love with me. Landon: That's not a problem.

the description of lust was simple: two people learn they're compatible , attraction grows, and the ancient instinct to preserve the species kicks in.

I suppose [my life] has most resembled a blue chip stock: fairly stable, more ups than downs, and gradually trending upward over time. A good buy, a lucky buy, and I've learned that not everyone can say that about his life.

Frequency of sex – Women sometimes wanted; men always needed.

Everyone always noticed Ashley. She was like a flashing neon sign for anyone with an ounce of testosterone.

As these images were going through my head, my breathing suddenly went still. I looked at Jamie, then up to the ceiling and around the room, doing my best to keep my composure, then back to Jamie again. She smiled at me and I smiled at her and all I could do was wonder how I'd ever fallen in love with a girl like Jamie Sullivan.

If it came down to that, I'd protect you in a heartbeat.

The greater the love, the greater the tragedy when it's over. Those two elements always go together.

If pinpointing God's presence were really that simple, then he supposed the beaches would be more crowded in the mornings. They would be filled with people on their own quests, instead of people jogging or walking their dogs or fishing in the surf.