Barbara Delinsky

“There, on the far side of of the Atlantic, would be Maine, but despite the shared ocean, her island and this one were worlds apart. Where Inishmaan was gray and brown, its fragile man-made soil supporting only the hardiest of low-growing plants, the fertile Quinnipeague invited tall pines in droves, not to mention vegetables, flowers, and improbable, irrepressible herbs. Lifting her head, eyes closed now, she breathed in the damp Irish air and the bit of wood smoke that drifted on the cold ocean wind. Quinnipeague smelled of wood smoke, too, since early mornings there could be chilly, even in summer. But the wood smoke would clear by noon, giving way to the smell of lavender, balsam, and grass. If the winds were from the west, there would be fry smells from the Chowder House; if from the south, the earthiness of the clam flats; if from the northeast, the purity of sweet salt air.”

“Some women are born with an instinct for knowing how things work—and what to do when they break.”

“I had nothing to fear from my father.Except his disappointment.Which was no small thing.”

“When the truth emerges, it can’t be ignored. Nor will it wait.”

“Confrontation is what happens when you are less than honest and you get caught.”

“She thought about this. She had analyzed it in depth. When you live alone, travel alone, exist solely on the outskirts of other people's lives, you do have time to wonder why what you want most in life is out of reach. You also have the time to tell yourself that you don't want it at all, though whether you can ever be completely convinced is something else.”

“The question was whether James would love me if I was someone else.”

“Every woman feels. It just takes the right man to make things combust.”

“What she did have, after raising two children, was the equivalent of a PhD in mothering and my undying respect.”

“It feels like forever, like he's lived through the same things as me, like our lives ran parallel for years until last week, when they finally intersected and fused.”

“Too often, I've seen instances where we have an idea of what we want to be, where we want to go, and with whom - before life steps in the way, throws something at us that is beyond our control, and changes everything.”

“I'm not convinced that abstinence-only education works.”

“It´s like you get started in one direction and pick up speed, and you may forget where you´re going and why,but the momentum takes you there anyway. Only, you find out when you arrive that it isn´t where you wanted to be.”

“Aim high, hit high.”

“Each of my books is different from the last, each with its own characters, its own setting, its own themes. As a writer, I need the variety. I sense my readers do, too.”

“Especially at a time when one's life was new, roots helped.”

“I believe in growth - in myself and in the characters I create.”

“Being friends is different from being lovers. It’s a sea change.”

“Tombstones don´t list jobs, they list relationships-mother, wife, daughter.”

“In plotting a book, my goal is to raise the stakes for the characters and, in so doing, keep the reader mesmerized.”