Before She Disappeared (Frankie Elkin, #1)

by Lisa Gardner

People all over really are the same. They want to fall in love. They’re glad to survive each day. They pray their children will have a better life than they did. These truths bind us. At least I like to think so.

Maybe Boston neighborhoods aren’t meant to be understood. You either know where you are, or you don’t.

Just to make it more interesting, I’ve managed to catch Boston in the middle of a massive update to the MBTA, guaranteed to cause delays, shutdowns, and random moments of sheer chaos.

So many think we must share the same beliefs to get along. In my experience, sharing the same fear is a far more effective strategy.

There’s power in humility. It’s one of the toughest lessons I’ve had to learn. Like the other souls in this room, I live on unsteady ground. Each moment is a choice and for all my good choices, I’m a single mistake away from having to start my journey all over again.

Then there was Paul. Holding out his hand. Offering to save me. In the beginning it was enough. Later came the hard knowledge that no one can save you from yourself.

“No, not suspended or canceled. Closed. As in the work completed, so the class is no more. Sometime in the past month, my sister logged in. She submitted the homework. She passed the test.”

If clothes are camouflage, then scars are exclamation points of honesty.

Opportunity isn’t given, it must be made.

Focus on the souls you can still save. Not on the pieces of yourself you lost along the way.