Quotes from Push Not the River

“What is past, one cannot change,
so each backward glance is a bit of the present slipping away.”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“If there is no wind, you must learn to row.   —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“Push not the river; it will flow on its own accord.   —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“Life is like the moon— now dark, now full.   —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“No man knows courage,” his father had told him, “who has not known fear.”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“Few Polish citizens left on the Praga side of the River Vistula were allowed to live. The burning of the bridge was fortuitous, however, for the Russians were held at bay, allowing the night to cool their red rage. In the morning, the English ambassador to Poland and the Papal Nuncio crossed the river and secured from Suvorov assurance that the capital would be taken peacefully.”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“There are three things that are difficult to keep hidden: a fire, a cold, and love.   —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“There's no key to the woods and fields.”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“Wherever you go, you can never leave yourself behind.   —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“Follow your heart. Indulge your whims. They are usually correct. And when they are not, do not allow the world to judge you overly much.”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“A child, she reasoned, does not pick its parents nor the circumstances of its birth. A”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

“The roots of learning are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.   —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River

Video

About the author

Popular quotes

“When tomorrow starts without me, And I’m not there to see, If the sun should rise and find your eyes All filled with tears for me; I wish so much you wouldn’t cry The way you did today, While thinking of the many things, We didn’t get to say. I know how much you love me, As much as I love you, And each time you think of me, I know you’ll miss me too; But when tomorrow starts without me, Please try to understand, That an angel came and called my name, And took me by the hand, And said my place was ready, In heaven far above And that I’d have to leave behind All those I dearly love. But as I turned to walk away, A tear fell from my eye For all my life, I’d always thought, I didn’t want to die. I had so much to live for, So much left yet to do, It seemed almost impossible, That I was leaving you. I thought of all the yesterdays, The good ones and the bad, The thought of all the love we shared, And all the fun we had. If I could relive yesterday Just even for a while, I’d say good-bye and kiss you And maybe see you smile. But then I fully realized That this could never be, For emptiness and memories, Would take the place of me. And when I thought of worldly things I might miss come tomorrow, I thought of you, and when I did My heart was filled with sorrow. But when I walked through heaven’s gates I felt so much at home When God looked down and smiled at me, From His great golden throne, He said, “This is eternity, And all I’ve promised you. Today your life on earth is past But here it starts anew. I promise no tomorrow, But today will always last, And since each day’s the same way, There’s no longing for the past. You have been so faithful, So trusting and so true. Though there were times You did some things You knew you shouldn’t do. But you have been forgiven And now at last you’re free. So won’t you come and take my hand And share my life with me?” So when tomorrow starts without me, Don’t think we’re far apart, For every time you think of me, I’m right here, in your heart.”
― Eben Alexander, quote from Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife

“I love you, Max,' I whisper as his face and everything else in the world fades to white”
― Matthew Dicks, quote from Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend

“This said, we couldn’t get by without light. Light wipes away our tears, and when we’re bathed in light, we’re happy. Perhaps we just love how its particles pour down on us. Light particles somehow console us. I admit this is something I can’t quite explain using logic.”
― quote from The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism

“I’m a little scared, Grizz. Actually, more nervous than scared.” I tilted my head up to him, hands damp. “I know you have experience. I have none. I’m afraid you’ve built me up in your head to an ideal I can’t live up to. I don’t want to disappoint you.”       Until that very moment I didn’t even know the extent of my feelings. But I recognized there was truth in what I said.       I was falling for Grizz.       I still can’t explain the Grunt thing. Maybe it wasn’t real. Maybe it was all in my head because of the dream. I didn’t know. It didn’t matter.       Because while I was talking, Grizz was kissing my neck and I was letting myself enjoy it. I closed my eyes and leaned into him.       “You could never disappoint me, baby and I don’t want you to have experience. Everything you need to know you’ll learn from me,” he said as he turned me around and kissed me. “Only me.”
― Beth Flynn, quote from Nine Minutes

“Behind the violence of the birthing of galaxies and stars and planets came a quiet and tender melody, a gentle love song. All the raging of creation, the continuing hydrogen explosions on the countless suns, the heaving of planetary bodies, all was enfolded in a patient, waiting love.”
― Madeleine L'Engle, quote from Many Waters

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.