Quotes from Jacqueline Winspear

And I saw the eyes of the gazelle again in France [during WWI], and it struck me that perhaps a heartsick God had looked down and taken up a soul, leaving only the shell of a man." [of those who developed PTSD and/or "war neuroses"]… [In becoming a psychiatrist] I was really trying to create the conditions whereby a soul might be persuaded to join a man's body once a again, thus making him whole.

In my estimation—and I could be taken to task by the authorities for such comments, so please reflect upon this conversation with care—the numbers of shell-shocked men ran into the hundreds of thousands. And, arguably, there is no man"—he held Maisie's eyes with his own—"or woman, who returned from Flanders unscathed in the mind.

Don't mind me askin', Miss - and I know it ain't none of my business, like - but why don't you take 'im up on the offer of a dinner? I mean, gettin' the odd dinner fer nuffin'ain't such a bad thing.

Perhaps we must allow ourselves to be brought gently into the future by the good times, taking those dear memories with us and not allowing the worst of times to hold us in its grip—to hold us back, really." Dame

It's funny how things work out, isn't it? I mean, it's like dominoes—you touch one and then the others start to go, and sometimes they fall in the right direction and one person knows another and it all opens up like a flower.

Fear had to be handled with care, managed so it became a tool, not a weight.

But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat. "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here." —LEWIS CARROLL, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Maurice Blanche maintained that amid the tales, the smokescreens, and the deceptive mirrors of life's unsolved mysteries, truth resides, waiting for someone to enter its sanctum, then leave, without quite closing the door behind them. That is when truth may make its escape.

When you are sitting in silence, you open the door to a deeper wisdom--the knowing of the ages. When you are walking, with the path to that wisdom already carved anew by your daily practice, you find that an idea, a thought, a notion, comes to you, and you have the solution to a problem that seemed insoluble.

Seek the opportunity to swim beyond your own little pond. She knew every reed, mud-bank, and fish in her pond. Perhaps it was time to look for that flat after all, sooner rather than later.

Go forward with a light step, my child. Your heart will open with every mile traveled. Fill it wisely.

As friends they knew each other's history, knew the twists and turns that had brought them to this place in the world. And they understood each other's fears and frailties; nothing had to be explained. Now

After the war, however, in the early 1920s, the government had launched a series of advertisements aimed at getting the population out into the fresh air, encouraging people to go hill walking, which some master of the slogan had abbreviated to hiking.

No money needed," said Billy, winking and tapping the side of his nose with his forefinger. "Nod's as good as a wink to a blind 'orse, if you know what I mean, miss.

peckish, because everyone gets peckish now and again. And

That's not necessarily a bad thing, is it? You bring old events and choices to the surface, and you change the vista—but spring will come, the soil will seed itself, that flood or drought will abate, and life goes on in that new landscape.

I trust Robinson, so I will go ahead," said Davenham. Maisie moved back to the desk, and looked down at her notes, then to the rooftops where pigeons were busy returning to newly built nests, before she brought her attention back to the man in the leather chair before her. "Yes, Mr. Davenham. I will, too." Maisie allowed her acceptance of the case to be underlined by another moment of silence.

but knew that jumping to such conclusions was unwise, for it closed the mind to other possibilities. One must consider facts as if one has discovered jewels, each gem laid out on a plain surface, a clear mind, and then considered carefully before being arranged in a set.

when greeted, in case the ghostly specter

Maisie placed her hands together in front of her face, just touching her nose, as if in prayer. "Let me ask you another question. What value do you place on your marriage?" "What sort of question is that?" "A question to be answered, if I am to take on this investigation." "A high value. Vows are meant to be honored." "And what value do you place on understanding, compassion, forgiveness?

Just because the circumstances might be almost intolerable does not mean there are not moments when the light shines in.

You should allow yourself to indulge in this remembrance. When you face the past, all you will see is that which has gone before. So I have some advice: Let this be your turning point. Have done with it, and turn to face the future. Only then will the future rise up to meet you. Only then will the distress pass.

May I not sit in judgment. May I be open to hearing and accepting the truth of what I am told. May my decisions be for the good of all concerned. May my work bring peace. . . .

Sometimes she thought she could see that good heart beating, and realized that more often now she looked for goodness in a person, sought it out and found it comforting.