Quotes from The Rules of Survival

“ MATTHEW'S RULES OF SURVIVAL
1. Sometimes, the people who mean you harm are the ones who say they love you.
2. Fear is your friend. When you feel it, act.
3. Protect the little ones.
4. If you coped before, you can cope now.
5. Always remember: In the end, the survivor gets to tell the story.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“No. It's actually not okay. And I hate when people say that, when they say it's okay even though it's not. It's better to tell the truth.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“Always remember: In the end, the surviver gets to tell the story.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“Emmy, the events we lived through taught me to be sure of nothing about other people. They taught me to expect danger around every corner. They taught me to understand that there are people in this world that mean you harm, And sometimes, they're the people who say they love you.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“The human instinct for self-preservation is strong. I know, because mine pulls at me, too, like the needle on a compass. And everybody - I've been reading some philosophy - everybody seems to agree that the instinct and responsibility of all humans is to take care of themselves first. You have the right to self-defense. You have the right to survive, if you can.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“But I know that I'm not who I was supposed to be. Who I could have been. And I know it's because I was too afraid for too long.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“What you did was enough," I said. "We didn't need a superhero. Just an adult who acted to help us when I asked.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“As long as I live, when you need help, you will never need to beg anyone to notice. I won't just hang around thinking I ought to do something to help.

I will act.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“Demons are real. Since I'm not religious, I think of them as metaphors for the evil desires and impulses all humans have. A religious person can think of them as separate evil beings that can possess you. Either way, I believe they exist, lurking patiently around and in us, whispering their twisted points of view, ever alert for an opportunity. The sudden chink in your armor when you're tired, frightened, or angry. The invitation you issue in that moment of vulnerability.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“Fear isn't actually a bad thing. It's a primitive instinct that's your friend. It warms you to pay attention, because you're in danger. It tells you to do something, to act, to save yourself.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“When you're living your life in endurance mode, you don't expect anything good to happen. I'm not saying you don't dream about some miracle that would change everything for the better. But you pretty much know it's only a fantasy, and that you have no real control over anything.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“But I know that I am not who I was supposed to be, who I could have been, and I know it's because I was too afraid for too long. It made me think about things I never should have.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“I think the fear gets into your blood. It makes your subatomic particles twist and distort. You change, chemically. The fear changes, too. It because not your helper, but your master. You are a slave to it.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“The events we live through taught me to be sure of nothing about other people. They taught me to expect danger around every corner. They taught me to understand that there are people in this world who mean you harm. And sometimes, they're people you say they love you.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“The events we live through taught me to be sure of nother about other people. They taught me to expect danger around every corner. They taught me to understand that there are people in this world who mean you harm. And sometimes, they're people you say they love you.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

“The survivor gets to tell the story.”
― Nancy Werlin, quote from The Rules of Survival

About the author

Popular quotes

“My hustle has often involved food, because, much like household pets or toddlers, I am food-motivated, which is a handy thing to know about me.”
― Amy Schumer, quote from The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo

“Please, please be patient with me. Because I really don’t want to let go of this. And you—I don’t want to let go of you.” My voice drops to a whisper. “Of us.”
― Jay McLean, quote from Kick, Push

“Was he the epitome of virtue because he was poor? How had it been in the village? There was foul gossip and cussedness anywhere in the world where small men had to think of their stomachs first before thinking about others."
-Istak”
― F. Sionil José, quote from Dusk

“it turns the shower scene was a lot harder to film than i expected”
― Jeff Kinney, quote from Double Down

“Thunk. I jump back in alarm, my heart pounding against my ribs.
And then I hear, “Jemma!” A loud whisper, coming from below. I open up the doors and step outside. Moving quickly to the railing, I lean against it and peer down to find Ryder standing there, staring up at me. He’s dressed in a suit and tie--the same charcoal suit he wore to the gala, with a narrow silver-blue tie.
“What are you doing?” I call down to him.
He drops a handful of pebbles, scattering them into the grass by his feet. “Shh! Can I come up?”
I lower my voice to match his. “What’s wrong with the front door?”
He eyes me with raised brows. “Really?”
I picture my parents downstairs. Imagine what questions they’d ask, what gleeful conclusions they’d leap to at the sight of him here, asking to see me. I shake my head and reach a hand down toward him. “Here, can you climb?”
There’s a vine-covered trellis against the house beside my balcony. If he can just get a foothold, he’s tall enough to swing himself up and over the railing.
Which he does in less than two minutes. Pretty impressive, actually. Once he’s got both feet on the balcony, he casually brushes himself off. Somehow, he manages to look like he just stepped off the cover of GQ.
I tip my head toward the window. “You wanna come in?”
“You think it’s safe?”
“Just let me go lock the door,” I say before hurrying back inside.
And don’t think I’m not amused by the irony. Because unlike normal people, we’re not sneaking around to avoid being caught and punished. Nope. On the contrary, our parents would celebrate if they caught us in my bedroom together. I’m talking music and streamers and champagne toasts.
As quietly as possible, I turn the key in the lock, listening for the click. Sorry, folks. No party tonight.”
― Kristi Cook, quote from Magnolia

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.