"When he was quieter, I walked down into the living room & over to their jukebox. My finger ran down the choices & I thought about how love was always the thing that did that - smashed into you, left you raw. The deeper you loved, the deeper it hurt."

"'Look!' I said. 'My father used to beat up my mother! I had a husband who put me through the meat grinder & now one of my best friends has AIDS! I just don't believe in happily ever after. It's a crock of shit.'
'I know it's a crock of shit. I ain't offering you happily ever after. I'm offering you... happily-maybe-sometimes-after. Sort of. You know, with warts and shit.'"


- She's Come Undone, Wally Lamb