Quotes from The Back Road

“A radio was playing quietly. Nobody was listening. It was there to drown out the silence.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“It was as if she would never be whole until the secrets of the past were exposed.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“Within our working lives, and perhaps even amongst friends, we see deceptions played out before our eyes: people who pretend to be happy when they are aching with sadness, or to like each other when they feel nothing but contempt. Perhaps these are actions of self-preservation, driven by a will to hide our pain from a wider audience. Within a relationship, though, pretence is indeed both unreasonable and illogical. Admit to being the person you really are. Never play that deadly game of charades.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“For some people, life is like that. They filter out the positive and focus on the negative. They make assumptions about what somebody else is thinking, and believe only in the worst possible outcome.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“forgiveness is not something we do for other people—we do it for ourselves. So forgive yourself for being a victim. Look positively to the here and now. Put the past behind you and think of it as somewhere you once visited, and possibly didn’t like very much. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” Buddha”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“Friedrich Nietzsche said, ‘I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“When it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“How easy it is to blame the present on the past, and allow history to shape the future. How many of us justify our current behaviour by reference to events long gone? Is this true within your relationship? Are you allowing past mistakes to dictate your destiny? If pain has been inflicted by a loved one, you may search for reasons and explanations that simply can’t be found. You pick away at the scar that is trying to heal, and cause the blood to flow again. You seek reassurances that you may never truly believe. The scar becomes ragged and ugly to all who can see it, and you become the walking wounded, waiting to be hurt again. Accept that your history has changed you. Rejoice in your survival. Let the wounds heal to form a stronger, more resilient you, and remember that forgiveness is not something we do for other people—we do it for ourselves. So forgive yourself for being a victim. Look positively to the here and now. Put the past behind you and think of it as somewhere you once visited, and possibly didn’t like very much. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” Buddha”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“lie; secrets and deceit will ultimately undermine a relationship’s stability, durability, and longevity. Friedrich”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“now. Put the past behind you and think of it as somewhere you once visited, and possibly didn’t like very much. “Do”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“you can’t carry on arguing about it, can you?”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“What is your reaction when your loved one walks through the door? Has the sun come out, or do you hear distant rumbles of thunder? Does cold ice settle around your heart, knowing that the road ahead is going to be fraught with slippery patches, or can you lean back and enjoy the sunshine? Think of your heart and your soul as the weather, and listen to what they’re telling you. You are entitled to feel the heat of the sun’s rays, but getting to that warm place may mean you have to survive some rainy days first.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“When he’d bought this cottage, he hadn’t realised how it would feel”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“Gary had the sort of haircut that required constant brushing back with the fingers, or even—God help us—the occasional flick of the head like a shy girl on her first date.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“straight back. I smile when I see it’s from Chloe.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“thing that I know how to do,”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“of not telling me, because my sister’s welfare comes way above”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“Accept that your history has changed you. Rejoice in your survival. Let the wounds heal to form a stronger, more resilient you, and remember that forgiveness is not something we do for other people—we do it for ourselves.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“Think of your heart and your soul as the weather, and listen to what they’re telling you. You are entitled to feel the heat of the sun’s rays, but getting to that warm place may mean you have to survive some rainy days first.”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“When it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow.” Gilbert K. Chesterton”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“was getting impatient. It didn’t usually take this long to get them gagging for it. He’d been put off on Saturday night and told that it was all”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“Honesty and trust go hand in hand. Once a lie has been told, deception practised, or truth omitted, trust is destroyed. Some say that love is giving someone the power to break your heart, but trusting them not to. So without trust, what happens to love? Never”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

“Many years ago I saw a short film sequence of a little girl. She was wearing a pretty dress as she skipped down a narrow cobbled lane. The people around smiled fondly as she passed. The grainy, black-and-white image did nothing to detract from the happy scene, and the light, summery music gave a feeling of well-being. The audience’s attention was focused entirely on the child. Then the identical film was shown again, but this time with sinister music playing. There was a gasp from the audience. For the first time, every person in the room noticed an unsmiling man standing at the mouth of a dark alley, smoking a cigarette and watching the girl. In spite of already knowing the ending, there was a sigh of relief when the child was reunited with her mother. Same film. Different music. For some people, life is like that. They filter out the positive and focus on the negative. They make assumptions about what somebody else is thinking, and believe only in the worst possible outcome. They are listening to a sinister tune. Is this you? If so, change the music, and focus on the positive. Listen to a happy tune, and see if the man skulking in the doorway disappears from view. “Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.” William James”
― Rachel Abbott, quote from The Back Road

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Popular quotes

“I'd like to take a walk far back in the flinty hills and search for a souvenir, an old double-bitted ax stuck deep in the side of a white oak tree. I know the handle has long since rotted away with time. Perhaps the rusty frame of a coal-oil lantern still hangs there on the blade.”
― Wilson Rawls, quote from Where the Red Fern Grows

“And out of his heaviness there stood out strangely but one clear thought and it was a pain to him, and it was this, that he wished he had not taken the two pearls from O-lan that day when she was washing his clothes at the pool, and he would never bear to see Lotus put them in her ears again.”
― Pearl S. Buck, quote from The Good Earth

“You, and those like you, take your fill of pleasure on earth by making the life of such as me bitter and black with sorrow; and then it is a fine thing, when you have had enough of that, to think of securing your pleasure in heaven by becoming converted!”
― Thomas Hardy, quote from Tess of the D'Urbervilles

“Say not, “I have found the truth,” but rather, “I have found a truth.”
Say not, “I have found the path of the soul.” Say rather, “I have met the soul walking upon my path.”
For the soul walks upon all paths.
The soul walks not upon a line, neither does it grow like a reed.
The soul unfolds itself, like a lotus of countless petals.”
― Kahlil Gibran, quote from The Prophet

“If we shadows have offended,
Know but this and all is mended.
That you have but slumbered here,
While these visions did appear,
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding, but a dream.”
― William Shakespeare, quote from A Midsummer Night's Dream

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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.

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