Quotes from Alice Hoffman

Once I saw him crying over a deer a hunter had shot and left to die. I was stunned to see my strong father cry. But now if he were here, he would tell me that real strength has no boundaries. The more you feel, the stronger you are, I hear him say to me.

Evil was predictable; it cloaked itself in righteousness, convinced its enemies must be punished.

Once upon a time, before the whole world changed, it was possible to run away from home, disguise who you were, and fit into polite society

Now whenever he kissed her, she cried and wished she had never fallen in love in the first place. It had made her too helpless, because that's what love did.

And yes, he supposed his mother had something to do with that as well, for she'd been the one who had opened that world to him. Don't think you know everything, when you know so little. Stop wasting your time and read this.

She had a solemn expression as she asked if, in his opinion as a doctor, he had come to the conclusion that all living things had souls. ...... If a soul was formed by meaning and purpose, did not every blade of grass have a soul, for each had a purpose.

and taking their time, walking slowly, like tourists, even though this is a landscape they know inside out. The streetlamps cast a hazy glow, the light of a dream you're not quite finished waking from. Fireflies drift across the lawns.

Once you knew that death was walking alongside you, things came into focus, as they now did for Jet. With only seven days left she had best pay attention to every detail. She had already taken note that the lines on her right palm, showing the fate that she'd been given, and those on the left hand, the fate she had made for herself, were exactly the same; they had converged, as they always do at the end of a life.

He wished he could somehow let Claire know this was what love was. The ability to ask for something. The desire to give someone what they asked for.

Who made it your job to feel guilty for every bad thing that happens?

I used to think there was a plan, a rough plan, but a plan all the same," the doctor admitted. "Now, I believe there are a thousand plans. Every breath, every decision, influences the plan, expands it, shortens it, twists it all around. It's always changing. Those of us lucky enough to make it through the multitude of possible diseases and accidents get old. We get tired. We close our eyes.

There are secrets that must be held close, and most of these have to do with the wounding of the human heart, for sorrow spoken aloud is sorrow lived through twice.

All the same, some things stay with you forever. You are a different person now. You know it and I know it. You're not the same. You're a survivor. Congratulations.

If a woman is in trouble, she should always wear blue for protection. Blue shoes or a blue dress. A sweater the color of a robin's egg or a scarf the shade of heaven.

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none. —WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Some creatures do not care how polite a person might be, they will hurt you for no reason, and then all you can do is heal yourself with whatever ingredients are necessary.

A person got to really see things if she wasn't racing through life

When your father doesn't love you, a stone forms inside of you, hard and sharp enough to pierce through bone.

From then on, I didn't cry when I was disappointed. I just stored up my hurts, as if they were a tower made of fallen stars, invisible to most people, but brightly burning inside of me.

The secret name sounded like glass, something broken and strange

crows were more intelligent than most men, and more loyal, and that you could not choose them, they must choose you, they must come to you and once they did they would never leave you, at least not of their own accord.

Life was beautiful, everyone knew that, but it was also bitter and bleak and unfair as hell and where did that leave a person?

In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; and in all things love.

To be young and alive was a glorious thing. When you possessed it, you were likely unable to fully comprehend that it was a marvel and a gift, no matter your circumstances.