Quotes from Kristan Higgins

There were also plenty of articles about adopted kids loving their birth parents and not being tormented. Some had reasons for not wanting to find their biological family. But speaking generally, it did seem that many adopted kids wanted to meet their birth parents. Especially their mothers, who had carried them and given birth to them. It wasn't that they were looking for a replacement. Just answers.

They rose at five, which is Satan's hour, as everyone knows,

Love is a decision. It's not just a feeling.

I just don't want you to look back on your life twenty years from now, Maggie, and see all the things you could have done," Mom says, blowing her nose again. "I think I'll look back and see all the things I did do, Mom," I say, a little starch creeping into my voice. "I'll see that I fed people and welcomed them, I helped them and kept them company... those are good things, Mom.

the time between almost and right away...

She wanted a man's face to light up when he saw her. She wanted a man to kiss her like his heart would stop if he didn't

He had the kind of looks that made breathing irrelevant.

You never realize it until you're pregnant, or holding your baby in your arms, but your heart, soul and peace of mind will never be yours again.

They'd cared for her, provided for her and loved her. If anything, the knowledge that she wasn't their flesh and blood made her love them all the more. They had chosen her,

Bryce was a typical man—he didn't know what he needed; he just knew what he liked.

spiced apple cider and donuts,

Then she slammed the door. Opened it and slammed it again, just in case he missed the point.

He was still so beautiful, though I recognized the signs of a hard struggle with alcohol and drugs. He was thinner than I remembered, and a few capillaries were broken in his cheeks. There were a few scars that might've been from skin picking on his face, a classic habit of a junkie.

Maybe love isn't just a bouquet of roses once in a while. Maybe it's just sticking it out when it's hard, when you're mad, when you're tired.

I hadn't wanted my child to be seen as a mistake. An accident. I knew how too many people looked at teenage mothers, contemptuous of our carelessness, viewing us as a drain on the system.

I loved my family. But as I got older, I felt myself . . . disappearing. The good child, the easy teenager, the strong student. My siblings outgrew their need for a sitter/shepherd.

It's hard to know who you are when you've been assigned a role so young. If your identity comes from what you do for other people, who are you when you're alone?

the stars were most brilliant against the darkest sky. Their infertility was the darkness, making every happy moment all the more brilliant for it.

he spent his free time at the

Lucas came into view. Oh, wow. Wow. He wore carpenter shorts and work boots and a white T-shirt that made his skin seem darker. Blue-collar man and his big, strong . . . um. . .hammer. Wasn't there a porno about this? There should be. Someone should make one now. . .

Leo the piano teacher taught out of a garden apartment and lived upstairs with his girlfriend, Jenny.

Rosie and I went to Planned Parenthood together. "They'll have all kinds of information," she said. "It's not just for abortions.

Everyone makes mistakes. Its what you do after the mistake that matters

Well," she said, "you know the options, honey. There's abortion, as I'm sure you know. If you want to stay pregnant, we can get you started on prenatal vitamins and refer you to a midwife practice. If you're considering adoption, we can recommend some great agencies.