----------------------------------
She boiled it down and put all her effort into what was most essential. The rest would have to remain in the pristine place, hanging on.
"I miss myself."
"I miss you, too, Ali, so much." -P328
----------------------------------
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Alice Howland is proud of the life she worked so hard to build. At fifty years old, she's a cognitive psychology professor at Harvard and a world-renowned expert in linguistics with a successful husband and three grown children. When she becomes increasingly disoriented and forgetful, a tragic diagnosis changes her life——and her relationship with her family and the world——forever.
----------------------------------
The lights were on inside her house, and John's bag and shoes rested next to the table by the door.
She sat in the passenger seat and waited for John to say something. But he didn't. He cried the whole way home. -P102
She knew exactly where she was but had never felt more lost in her life. Then he looked at her with scared and profound sorrow in his eyes that she'd never seen before.
[About Butterflies] - Her mother had comforted her and told her not to be sad for the butterflies, that just because their lives were short didn't mean they were tragic. Watching them flying in the warm sun among the daisies in their garden, her mother had said to her, See, they have a beautiful life. Alice liked remembering that. -P129
With her hands high on his back, she pressed her face against his chest and breathed him in. She wanted to say more to him, about what he meant to her, but she couldn't find the words. He held her a little tighter. He knew. They stood still in the kitchen holding on to each other without a word for a long time.
She wished she'd been his passion.
"What's he like?"
Lydia's smile jumped ahead of her answer.
"He's very tall, outdoorsy, a little shy."
"What's he like with you?"
"He's very sweet. He loves how smart I am, he's so proud of my acting, he brags about me a lot, it's almost embarrassing. You'd like him."
"What are you like with him?"
Lydia considered this for several moments, as if she hadn't before.
"Myself."
"Good." -P269
John stood tall and unabashed in his lucky gray T-shirt, with an unmistakable love in his eyes and joy in his smile as he applauded her. -P294
----------------------------------
by Karen
2014-10-01