“Isn’t it odd,” Maryam said. “Just like that, a completely unknown person is a part of their family forever. Well, of course that’s true of a birth child, too, but … I don’t know, this seems more astonishing.” “To me, both are astonishing,” Dave said. “I remember before Bitsy was born, I used to worry she might not be compatible with the two of us. I told Connie, ‘Look at how long we took deciding whom we’d marry, but this baby’s waltzing in out of nowhere, not so much as a background check or a personality quiz. What if it turns out we don’t have any shared interests?’ ”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Digging to America
“You belong,” he told her. “You belong just as much as I do, or, who, or Bitsy or … It’s just like Christmas. We all think the others belong more.”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Digging to America
“The excuses she’d been about to offer—New York, Farah’s visit—suddenly seemed transparent. Instead, she told the truth. “I’m afraid it might be awkward, though.” “Awkward! Nonsense. We’re all grownups.” This argument came as a disappointment; Maryam wasn’t sure why. What had she wanted Bitsy to say? A pinch of injury tightened her chest. She said, “I know your father feels I didn’t handle things very well.” “Now, is that in any way relevant to this discussion? We’re talking about a simple little, normal little family get-together,” Bitsy said. “Shoot, we should just shanghai you.” Shanghai. As a verb, it was unfamiliar. Maybe it meant something like “lynch.” Maryam said, “Yes, perhaps you should,” in a tone that must have sounded more bitter than she had intended, because Bitsy said, “Well, forgive me, Maryam. I’m a meddlesome person; I realize that.” Which she was, in fact. But Maryam said, “Oh, no, Bitsy, you’re very kind. You were very sweet to call.” And then, trying to match Bitsy’s energy, “But you haven’t told me what I can do for you! Please, give me a task.” “Not a thing, thanks,” Bitsy said. “I’m getting stronger every day.”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Digging to America
“They knew all about Jin-Ho because Jin-Ho’s mother had telephoned two weeks after the babies’ arrival. “I hope you don’t mind my tracking you down,” she’d said. “You’re the only Yazdans in the book and I just couldn’t resist calling you to find out how things were going.” Jin-Ho, it seemed, was doing marvelously.”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Digging to America
“When Bitsy looked back on Jin-Ho’s arrival, it didn’t seem like a first meeting. It seemed that Jin-Ho had been traveling toward them all along and Bitsy’s barrenness had been part of the plan, foreordained so that they could have their true daughter.”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Digging to America
Anne Tyler
Born place: in Minneapolis, Minnesota, The United States
Born date October 25, 1941
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“I guess it was easier to hide her sadness behind the written word than to disguise the emptiness in her voice.”
― John Marrs, quote from The Good Samaritan
“Most people with low self-esteem have earned it.”
― George Carlin, quote from Napalm & Silly Putty
“We went outside and stood on the covered porch. It was raining again. Hard.
“Crap, I left the umbrella in the car,” he said. “Let me go get--”
“Don’t be silly. I won’t melt.”
“You sure?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Okay, then.”
He grabbed my hand--his was so warm, so large--and we made a mad dash across the puddle-filled parking lot. He had his keys out and was beeping the locks before we got there. We both jumped inside, through opposite doors, at the same time.
Laughing, drenched, and cold.
“I’ll get the heater going,” he said, cranking up the car.
“It’s June, in Texas.”
“I know, but I’m cold.”
― Rachel Hawthorne, quote from The Boyfriend League
“You don’t have to be a
philosopher; you just have to want to know who you are”
― Padmasambhava, quote from Tibetan Book of the Dead
The Gods Will Have B...
Loving Hart
Doll Bones
Scars
Knight & Play
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