Winter Garden

by Kristin Hannah

Every choice changed the road you were on and it was too easy to end up going in the wrong direction.

“We women make choices for others, not for ourselves, and when we are mothers, we . . . bear what we must for our children. You will protect them. It will hurt you; it will hurt them. Your job is to hide that your heart is breaking and do what they need you to do.”

life—and love—can be gone any second. When you had it, you needed to hang on with all your strength and savor every second.

maybe that was how it was supposed to be, how life unfolded when you lived it long enough. Joy and sadness were part of the package; the trick, perhaps, was to let yourself feel all of it, but to hold on to the joy just a little more tightly because you never knew when a strong heart could just give out.