Quotes from book

The Nightingale

“I am a mother and mothers don’t have the luxury of falling apart in front of their children, even when they are afraid, even when their children are adults.”

“If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.”

“She has a steel exterior, but it protects a candyfloss heart.”

“I always thought it was what I wanted: to be loved and admired. Now I think perhaps I'd like to be known.”

“I belong to a generation that didn't expect to be protected from every danger. We knew the risks and took them anyway.”

“It is not biology that determines fatherhood. It is love.”

“She wanted to bottle how safe she felt in this moment, so she could drink of it later when loneliness and fear left her parched.”

“Today’s young people want to know everything about everyone. They think talking about a problem will solve it. I come from a quieter generation. We understand the value of forgetting, the lure of reinvention.”

“know now what matters, and it is not what I have lost. It is my memories. Wounds heal. Love lasts.”

“You’re not alone, and you’re not the one in charge,” Mother said gently. “Ask for help when you need it, and give help when you can. I think that is how we serve God—and each other and ourselves—in times as dark as these.”

“Love. It was the beginning and end of everything, the foundation and the ceiling and the air in between.”

“Perhaps that’s why I find myself looking backward. The past has a clarity I can no longer see in the present.”

“Wounds heal. Love lasts. We remain.”

“But when he looked at her—and she looked at him—they both knew that there was something worse than kissing the wrong person. It was wanting to.”

“But love has to be stronger than hate, or there is no future for us.”

“Tante Isabelle says it’s better to be bold than meek. She says if you jump off a cliff at least you’ll fly before you fall.”

“If there’s one thing I never do, it’s stop.”

“She was so tired of being strong.”

“It is easy to disappear when no one is looking at you.”