Beth Hoffman > Quotes

“When a chapter of your Life Book is complete, your spirit knows its time to turn the page so a new chapter can begin. Even when you're scared or think you're not ready your spirit knows you are. ”
― Beth Hoffman

“That's what friends should do. cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“It's what we believe about ourselves that determines how others see us.”
― Beth Hoffman

“It's how we survive the hurt in life that brings us strength and gives us beauty.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Life is full of change, honey. That's how we learn and grow. When we're born, the Good Lord gives each of us a Life Book. Chapter by chapter, we live and learn... When a chapter of your Life Book is complete, your spirit knows it's time to turn the page so a new chapter can begin. Even when you're scared or think you're not ready, your spirit knows you are.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Don't go wasting all them bright tomorrows you ain't even seen by hanging on to what happened yesterday. Let go, child. Just breathe out and let go.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. It's what we do and share with the world that matters. I believe it's important that we leave our communities in better shape than we found them.”
― Beth Hoffman

“Life don't wait for nobody, and even as special as you are, it ain't gonna wait for you, neither. So it's time to make up your mind that you're gonna join it.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving Ceecee Honeycutt

“[She] was a remarkable looking woman. Remarkable in that she wasn’t what most people would call beautiful. But she oozed a raw femaleness that I was certain made most women uncomfortable and sent men walking into walls. And when she smiled. Well. That was magic.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“don't grow up to fast, darling. Age is inevitable, but if you nuture a childlike heart, you'll never ever grow old.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“far too many people die with a heart thats gone flat with indiferance, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer amazing oppurtunities, but we've got to be wide-awake to recognize them.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Now there's something else I know. You might not think you're grieving, but grief comes in all sorts of ways. There's the kind of grief that leaves you numb, and the kind of grief that rips your world in half. And then there's another kind of grief that doesn't feel like grief at all. Its like a tiny splinter you don't even know you have until it festers so deep it has nowhere left to go but into your soul. I think that's the hardest kind of grief there is because you know you're hurting but you don't know why.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“That's life out there. See how it's movin? Even the leaves on the trees is movin'. Life don't wait for nobody, and even as special as you are, it ain't gonna wait for you, neither. So it's time to make up your mind that you're gonna join it.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“I loved this time of night, how everything softened and lost the hard edges of day, and how, if the wind moved just right, the live oaks would murmur tender green words across the shadowy lawn. Sitting with a book in the warm circle of light from the table lamp had become my favorite way to end the day.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“…It’s my fire… Everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. It’s what we do and share with the world that matters…far too many people die with a heart that’s gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we have got to be wide-awake to recognize them… it’s in that you’ll find your calling in life. That’s where true happiness and purpose lies. You’ll never be fulfilled if you don’t. Aunt Tootie The Saving of CeeCee Honeycutt”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“But lately,' she said, wiggling her bare toes, 'I find all men to be very much like wearing high-heeled shoes -- I love how pretty they make me feel, but by the end of the night I can't wait to get rid of them.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“What's the difference between eccentric and crazy?'

She lifted her hands above her head, tapped her zills together, and danced out the door. From over her shoulder she laughed and called out, 'Nobody knows!”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“The human mind is an amazing thing. It protects us when we can't protect ourselves. Sometimes when we're holding pain and it gets to be too heavy or goes too deep, we have to give in to it, let it knock us over and pull us all the way down. Once we hit bottom, we rest in a quiet place for a while. Then, when the pain eases and we're ready to face the world again, we come right back up.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be wide-awke to recognize them.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“She glanced over her shoulder at the house, which was now bathed in a warm tint of yellow from the sun. "Yes, everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. Its what we do and share with the world that matters. I believe its important that we leave our communities in better shape that we found them. Cecelia Rose," she said, reaching for my hand, "Far too many people die with a heart that's gone flat with indifference, and it surely must be a terrible way to go. Life will offer us amazing opportunities, but we've got to be awake to recognize them."

She rested her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "If there's one thing I'd like most for you, its that you'll find your calling in life. That's where true happiness and purpose lie. Whether its taking care of abandoned animals, saving old houses from the wreckin' ball or reading to the blind, you've got to find your fire, sugar. You'll never be fulfilled if you don't."

"But how will I know what my fire is?"

"Oh, you'll know. One day you'll do something, see something or get an idea that seems to pop up from nowhere. And you'll feel a kind of stirring- like a warm flicker inside your chest. When that happens, whatever you do, don't ignore it. Open your mind and explore the idea. Fan your flame. And when you do, you'll have found it.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“But if you have so much fun, then why don't you get together more than once a month?'

She looked at me like a wise old owl and winked. 'Do something too often and it stops being special.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Don't grow up too fast, Darling. Age is inevitable, but if you nurture a childlike heart, you'll never, ever grow old.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Well, what I don't understand is why people get all dressed up and drive to church so they can sit there and get scolded. Seems to me it'd be a whole lot easier for the to just stay home in their pj's, eat pancakes, and get yelled at over the radion.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“People is wise 'cause they get out in the world and live. Wisdom comes from experience - from knowin' each day is a gift and accepting it with gladness. You read a whole lot of books, and readin' sure has made you smart, but ain't no book in the world gonna make you wise.”
― Beth Hoffman

“I don't give a chicken's sorry ass who taught you. I just want to play.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving Ceecee Honeycutt

“A cool breeze lifted the hem of my nightgown. The birds began to chirp and sing and the first sparks of sunlight brought the dew drops to life.... When my fingers touched the back door, something inside me shifted - I could actually feel it. I knew Mrs. Odell was right. I felt the flutter of a page turn deep within me as a chapter in my Life Book came to a close.”
― Beth Hoffman

“c'mon now, honey, don't be mad at me. I don't mean to lie, I just remember big.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Ain't no sun in the kitchen without your face lookin' up at me.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“But there's a blessing in everything if we open our eyes.”
― Beth Hoffman

“I find all men to be very much like wearing high-heeled shoes - I love how pretty they make me feel, but by the end of the night I can't wait to get rid of them .. Thelma Rae Goodpepper in Saving CeeCee Honeycutt”
― Beth Hoffman

“Oysters are a lot like women. It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Lucille always loved a strong breeze. She said it was nature's way of blowing away our sorrows.'

Just then another gust of wind whipped around us. Aunt Tootie smiled. I smiled too.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“1. "It is what we believe about ourselves that determines how others see us"

2. (regarding friends) "cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest"

3. "oysters are a lot like women. It's how we survive the hurts in life that brings us strength and gives us our beauty”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Murdering anything is just plain criminal, but a Southerner murdering a magnolia? Well, that's an unforgivable sacrilege against nautre and the South.”
― Beth Hoffman

“Do you have a pet bird?' I asked, looking around the room.

'Oh, heavens, no. I'd never cage a bird. I can't imagine a worse fate, can you? I bought this cage at a market in Peru several years ago. I hung it here and wired the door open to remind myself how delicious freedom is -- financial and otherwise.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Just set up the board as best you can. We'll play with whatever we got.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“She looked up and smiled. “I’m glad you found some books that interest you. Would you like a glass of lemonade?”

Though I was hoping to thank her for the books and be on my way, I didn't want to seem rude. I nodded and set the stack of books on the counter. While Miz Goodpepper pulled a pitcher from the refrigerator, I asked, “Is the Kama Sutra a volcano?”

She gasped and splashed lemonade across the kitchen counter. The strangest look streaked across her face as she sopped up the mess with a wad of paper towels. “Well, I suppose some might think it's a volcano of sorts, but I can say with absolute assurance you wouldn't enjoy that book.”

“That's what I thought,” I said, feeling pleased with myself, so I put it back on the shelf.

She let out a barely audible sigh. “Good.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“She wore her sadness on the outside, like a heavy winter coat.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Oh Cecelia, you would have loved my grandmother, Miz Goodpepper said, dunking a cookie into her wine. She was so alive and full of original ideas, especially for that era. While other women were busy being proper, she was busy cultivating her spirit.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“I know you're scared," she said, smoothing an ice cube over her blistering fingers, "but you gotta grab hold of yourself. Every time you give in to your fears, you're lettin' that man win. And every time you do that, he gets stronger while you get weaker. Givin' into your fears will rob you blind. You'll end up a prisoner to that man for the rest of your life.”
― Beth Hoffman

“What happened today was a terrible thing, but I believe with all my heart that the Good Lord is holdin' all of us in His arms. That man don't know who we are or where we live, and he ain't gonna find out. We all need to be careful in this world, but I promise you, for every bad person on this earth there's a hundred good ones.”
― Beth Hoffman

“Yes. Everyone needs to find the one thing that brings out her passion. it's what we do to and share with the world that matters. I believe it's important that we leave our communities in better shape than we found them.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“It's our hearts that tell us the truth of things, honey, and my heart has never betrayed me. Not ever.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Friday is a purple-velvet-sofa day for some poor woman who's finally reclaimed her life. A purple velvet sofa is a gal's symbol of freedom.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Life is full of change, honey. That's how we learn and grow. When we're born, the Good Lord gives each of us a Life book. Chapter by chapter, we live and learn.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“It occurred to me that that's what friends should do: cherish the good and pretend not to notice the harmless rest.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“I tried not to smile as I gathered the marbles. After counting them out by color and placing them into the holes, I looked at Sapphire and shrugged. 'There aren't enough.'

Miz Obee's face tensed, but Sapphire looked at her friend kindly, patted the table, and said, 'Just set up the board as best you can. We'll play with whatever we got.'

I thought that was one of the wisest things I'd ever heard anyone say.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“Wisteria is my favorite flowering vine. Do you know why?'

I shook my head. 'No, ma'am.'

'Because it's strong -- just like me.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

“I find all men to be very much like wearing high-heeled shoes - I love how pretty they make me feel, but by the end of the night I can't wait to get rid of them.”
― Beth Hoffman, Saving CeeCee Honeycutt