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The Rescue

by Nicholas Sparks

The Rescue is a 2000 romance novel by Nicholas Sparks set in the small Southern town of Edenton, North Carolina. When a raging storm forces her car off the road, single mother Denise Holton is knocked unconscious, and… more

First published 2000 · 339 pages · English

28 quotes ★ 4.13 (216,780) Fiction

Quotes from the Book

You're going to come across people in your life who will say all the right words at all the right times. But in the end, it's always their actions you should judge them by. It's actions, not words, that matter.
People come, people go – they’ll drift in and out of your life, almost like characters in a favorite book. When you finally close the cover, the characters have told their story and you start up again with another book, complete with new characters and adventures. Then you find yourself focusing on the new ones, not the ones from the past.
I don't want to lose you.' His voice almost a whisper. Seeing his haggard expression, she took his hand and squeezed it, then reluctantly let it go. She could feel the tears again, and she fought them back. 'But you don't want to keep me, either, do you?' To that, he had no response.
Loving someone and having them love you back is the most precious thing in the world.
Youth offers the promise of happiness, but life offers the realities of grief.
Distance can ruin even the best of intentions. But I suppose it depends on how you look at it. Distance just adds a richness you would not otherwise get. People come. People go. They will drift in and out of your life, almost like characters in a favorite book. When you finally close the cover, the characters have told their stories and you start up again with another book, complete with new characters and adventures. Then you find yourself focusing on the new ones. Not the ones from the past.
It took me a long time to realize that distance can ruin even the best of intentions.
Loving someone and having them love you back is the most precious thing in the world. It's what made it possible for me to go on, but you don't seem to realize that. Even when love is right there in front of you, you choose to turn away from it. You're alone because you want to be.
Everyone has crap in their background, everyone has things they wish they could undo. But most people don't go around doing their best to screw up their present lives because of it.
Your going to come across people in your life that say all the right things at the right times. But in the end, it's always their actions you should judge them by. it's actions, not words, that matter.
Did you hear that Mitch? Your mom thinks you're beautiful.
These days she simply did the best job she could, accepting the good with the bad.
She hadn't chosen this life; it was the only life offered to her.
Not really. I suppose it depends on how you look at it. For me . . . well, it just adds a richness you wouldn't otherwise get. People come, people go—they'll drift in and out of your life, almost like characters in a favorite book. When you finally close the cover, the characters have told their story and you start up again with another book, complete with new characters and adventures. Then you find yourself focusing on the new ones, not the ones from the past.
Of the many things she’d learned from her mother, there was one that always stood out, one that came to mind when evaluating others. “You’re going to come across people in your life who say all the right words at all the right times. But in the end, it’s always their actions you should judge them by. It’s actions, not words, that matter.
- You've been through a lot in your life. - Too much, I sometimes think. - But you keep going. - I have to. I've got someone counting on me.
I don’t know you? Hell, I know you! You’re a damn coward, is what you are! You’re afraid of living because you think it means giving up this cross you’ve been carrying around your whole life. But this time, you’ve gone too far. You think you’re the only one in the world with feelings? You think you’ll just walk away from Denise and everything’s going to go back to normal now? You think you’ll be happier? You won’t Taylor, You won’t let yourself do that.
You know how it is. You feel a little different because other people have two parents, even if they’re divorced. It’s like you grow up knowing that you’re missing something important that everyone else has, but you don’t know exactly what it is. I remember hearing my friends talking about how their fathers wouldn't let them stay out late or didn't like their boyfriends. It used to make me so angry because they didn't even realize what they had. Do you know what I mean?
Her mother had once told her that there were men who kept secrets bottled up inside and that it spelled trouble for the women who loved them. Denise instinctively knew the truth of her mother’s statement, yet it was hard to reconcile her words with the love she felt for Taylor McAden.
You don’t understand –” “Like hell I don’t!” Mitch said, slamming his beer glass onto the table. “Who do you think you are? You don’t think I know? Hell, Taylor, I probably know you better than you know yourself. You think you’re the only one with a shitty past? You think you’re the only one who’s always trying to change it? I have news for you. Everyone has crap in their background, everyone has things they wish they could undo. But most people don’t go around doing their best to screw up their present lives because of it.
She had a childlike innocence that both charmed Taylor and aroused his protective interests, but eventually, she too wanted more than Taylor was willing to commit to.
Vais encontrar muita gente pela vida fora que diz as palavras certas na altura certa. Mas, ao fim e ao cabo, é pelas suas acções que os deves julgar. São as acções e não as palavras que contam.
But then again, he hadn’t really been looking, had he? Both Valarie and Lori claimed that there was something inside of him they were unable to reach, something about the way he viewed himself that neither of them could really understand. An though he knew they meant well, their attempts to talk to him about this distance of his didn’t – or couldn’t – change anything.
Didn’t we just talk about this the other night?” Denise sighed with exasperation. “Yeah, we talked. Or rather, I talked. But you didn’t say much at all.” “Sure I did.” “No, you didn’t. But then, you never have. You just talk about surface things, never the things that are really bothering you.
additional twenty feet. Not much if the ladder was at an angle—but because it would have to be positioned nearly horizontally out over the river, it would test the limits of what was safe. Had
blazing across the sky? Or did he dream using the few
People come, people go—they’ll drift in and out of your life, almost like characters in a favorite book. When you finally close the cover, the characters have told their story and you start up again with another book, complete with new characters and adventures. Then you find yourself focusing on the new ones, not the ones from the past.” It
Sentada na cozinha, Denise pensava que a vida era como o estrume. Quando usado no jardim, servia de fertilizante. Eficaz e barato, alimentava o solo e ajudava o jardim a tornar-se tão bonito quanto podia ser. Mas fora dele, numa pastagem por exemplo, e quando pisado inadvertidamente, era uma coisa repugnante.

Did you know?

  • The novel is set in Edenton, North Carolina, one of the state's oldest towns.
  • Sparks has described it as one of his most personal books, inspired by his own son.
  • The story was partly drawn from his family's experience with a childhood language and auditory processing disorder.
  • The book debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list in October 2000 and reached number one the next week.
  • It was originally published by Warner Books.

About Nicholas Sparks

Nicholas Sparks is an American novelist and screenwriter best known for emotional love stories set in the American South, including The Notebook, A Walk to Remember, and Message in a Bottle. Many of his books have become international bestsellers and been adapted into films.

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About the book

The Rescue is a 2000 romance novel by Nicholas Sparks set in the small Southern town of Edenton, North Carolina. When a raging storm forces her car off the road, single mother Denise Holton is knocked unconscious, and volunteer fireman Taylor McAden finds her at the scene, only to discover that her four-year-old son Kyle, who has a serious speech and learning delay, is missing. The frantic search for the boy throws Denise and Taylor together and sets in motion a relationship neither of them expected.

As their connection deepens, the novel turns from the rescue of a child to the emotional rescue of the adults themselves. Taylor is a man who runs toward danger yet cannot bring himself to commit to love, a fear rooted in the loss of his father, and Denise is a woman who has poured her life into caring for her son. Sparks uses their tentative romance to explore themes of trauma, protectiveness, emotional risk, and the courage it takes to open oneself to another person.

The Rescue is among Sparks's most personal books, inspired by his own son Ryan and the family's experience with a childhood auditory and language processing disorder. Published by Warner Books, it debuted at number two on the New York Times bestseller list and rose to number one the following week, reinforcing Sparks's standing as one of the most popular authors of contemporary American romance.

Key characters

  • Denise HoltonSingle mother of Kyle, working to raise him alone
  • Kyle HoltonDenise's four-year-old son with a speech and learning delay
  • Taylor McAdenVolunteer fireman who finds Denise and is afraid to fall in love
  • Judy McAdenTaylor's mother
  • Mitch JohnsonTaylor's best friend
  • Melissa JohnsonMitch's wife

Book details

First published
2000
Length
339 pages
Reading time
6 hours
Genre
Fiction
Goodreads rating
4.13 (217k ratings)

If you liked this, read…

  1. 1
    Message in a BottleAnother Nicholas Sparks Southern romance about grief and unexpected love
  2. 2
    A Walk to RememberSparks novel centered on tender, transformative love
  3. 3
    The NotebookSparks's signature emotional love story set in North Carolina

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