“Still, Claire hated Charlotte Brontë’s comment that she would have given all her talent to be beautiful. That condemned you always to play somebody else’s game—and, when your looks failed—finally to lose.”

“That's when I asked her where was that actress
She said "That was somebody else"
And then I asked her why she looked so happy now
She said "I finally like myself, at last I like myself."”

“You see mama don't watch your damn football
And your beer drinkin' just won't do
You're just stayin' out late
And you're preachin' the hate
And you never have been trueYou see mama she want her somebody
Who will let her be herself
So she's leavin' you
And your stinky damn ways
Cause she's found somebody else”

“I thought she'd make some comment about the bloodthirsty gods chasing us, but when she finally found her voice, she said, "That boy kissed you!"
Leave it to Liz to have her priorities straight.”

“The fastest way to succeed is to look as if you're playing by somebody else's rules, while quietly playing by your own.”

“Play on, when you're losing the game. Play on, cuz you're going to make mistakes. It's always worth the sacrifice, even when you think you're wrong.”

“Looking at him now-even if she hadn't been in love with him, that part of her that was her mother's daugher, that loved every beautiful thing for its beauty alone, would still have wanted him.”

“I tell my students, 'When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.”

“She stood in front of the mirror a long time, and finally decided she either looked like a sap or else she looked very beautiful. One or the other.”

“She fell, she hurt, she felt. She lived. And for all the tumble of her experiences, she still had hope. Maybe this next time would do the trick. Or maybe not. But unless you stepped into the game, you would never know.”