Heart of the Matter Quotes

“I think of how each person in a marriage owes it to the other to find individual happiness, even in a shared life. That this is the only way to grow together, instead of apart.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“In days that follow, I discover that anger is easier to handle than grief.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“It always takes two. For relationships to work, for them to break apart, for them to be fixed.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Happiness is the best revenge, you know? Just be happy. It's a choice.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Buried beneath disappointment and fear, anger and pride, I just might find it in my heart to forgive.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“...recognizing that there is more heartbreak in continuous disappointment than a void...”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“I nod, thinking of how difficult marriage can be, how much effort is required to sustain a feeling between two people - a feeling that you can't imagine will ever fade in the beginning when everything comes so easily. I think of how each person in a marriage owes it to the other to find individual happiness, even in a shared life. That is the only real way to grow together, instead of apart.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“ONE MORE CHNCE. Words that my mother heard, more than once. Words that women debate. Whether you CAN forgive and whether you SHOULD trust. I think of all the judgment from society, friends, and family, the overwhelming consensus seeming to be that you should not grant someone who betrayed you a second chance. That you should do everything you can to keep the knife out of your back, and to protect your heart and pride. Cowards give second chances. Fools give second chances. And I am no coward, no fool.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“It was about grace, she decides, something that has been missing from her own life. ... She wants to be the kind of person who can bestow unearned kindness on another, replace bitterness with empathy, forgive only for the sake of forgiving.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Yet here we are, two children and a broken promise later, standing before each other, just the way we stood that day at the alter, with equal parts love and hope. And once again, I close my eyes, ready to take a leap of faith, ready for the long, hard road ahead. I have no idea how it's going to turn out, but then again, I never really did.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“It occurs to me that she is not unique--that all women compare lives. We are aware of whose husband works more, who helps more around the house, who makes more money, who is having more sex. We compare our children, taking note of who is sleeping through the night, eating their vegetables, minding their manners, getting into the right schools. We know who keeps the best house, throws the best parties, cooks the best meals, has the best tennis game. We know who among us is the smartest, has the fewest lines around her eyes, has the best figure--whether naturally or artificially. We are aware of who works full-time, who stays at home with the kids, who manages to do it all and make it look easy, who shops and lunches while the nanny does it all. We digest it all and then discuss with our friends. Comparing and then confiding; it is what women do.
The difference, I think, lies in why we do it. Are we doing it to gauge our own life and reassure ourselves that we fall within the realm of normal? Or are we being competitive, relishing others' shortcomings so that we can win, if only by default?”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Love is sharing a life together”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“She wonders what fool ever said that it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all - she has never disagreed with something so much.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“I cheated with Rachel, but I'll never cheat on Rachel.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“You can never be too sure when it comes to things that matter most”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Then he continues his rant,saying, "And even if I didn't know them, I know their type."
"And what type is that?" she asks,leaning foward in her chair,yearning for confirmation that he gets it,that they are like-minded in their observations of others and the circumspect way they view the world.
"Oh,let's see," he says,rubbing his jaw. "Superficial.Artificial.Sheep.
They're more worried about how they come across to others than who they really are.They exhaust themselves in their pursuit of things that don't really matter.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Whether you CAN forgive and whether you SHOULD trust.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“I looked at my friend, overwhelmed with confusion. Unsure of what April should do. What I should do. What a strong woman would do. In fact, the only thing that I am certain of is that there are no easy answers, and that anyone who says there are has never been in our shoes.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“I had seen the light, come to believe that a wedding should be about a feeling between two people, not a show for the masses...It was a magical, romantic evening, and although I occasionally wish I had worn a slightly fancier dress, and that Nick and I had danced on our wedding night, I have no real regrets about the way we chose to do things.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“She knows in her heart that it doesn't work like this. That misfortune doesn't give you the right to disregard others, ignore the rules, tell lies and half-truths.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“And yet, there is nobody I'd rather talk to, be near, look at, than my husband, an unprecedented feeling that overcame me the moment we met.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“I close my eyes, wondering whether we are ever truly blindsided by misfortune. Or, somehow, somewhere, in the form of empathy or worry or a premonition deep within ourselves, do we feel it coming?”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Whenever I hear of someone else's tragedy, I do not dwell on the accident or diagnosis, or even the initial shock waves or aftermath of grief. Instead, I find myself reconstructing those final ordinary moments. Moments that make up our lives. Moments that were blissfully taken for granted--and that likely would have been forgotten altogether but for what followed. The before snapshots.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“I still find myself reaching out and knocking twice on our wooden cutting board. Because you can never be too sure when it comes to the things that matter most.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Even if he is my best friend in theory, I sometimes feel as if I share more of my life with Cate and April and even Rachel - at least when it comes to the everyday matters that comprise my life - from the slice of cheesecake I regret eating to the killer sunglasses I found on sale to the adorable thing Ruby said or Frank did. Eventually, I get around to telling Nick this stuff, too, if it's still relevant or pressing when we're finally together at the end of the day. But more often, I mentally pare down the important issues and spare him the trivial ones - or at least the ones I think he would deem trivial.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“That's unfortunate," I say, choosing my words carefully and realizing that this might be the hallmark of a genuine friendship: how freely you speak.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Even if he is my best friend in theory, I sometimes feel as if I share more of my life with Cate and April and even Rachel - at least when it comes to the everyday matters that comprise my life - from the alive of cheesecake I regret eating to the killer sunglasses I found on sale to the adorable thing Ruby said or Frank did. Eventually, I get around to telling Nick this stuff, too, if it's still relevant or pressing when were finally together at the end of the day. But more often, I mentally pare down the important issues and spare him the trivial ones - or at least the ones I think he would deem trivial.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Did you always know you wanted to practice law?" She considers this - considers the truth - that she had no real passion for the law, but simply wanted to achieve for the sake of achievement...But of course, she did not divulge any of this, and instead says, "No, not really.”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“That although I love Nick, on most days I don't think he lassoed the moon”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter

“Would they retreat or move forward? Could they do this thing they were on the verge of doing? Did they have it in them to make a wrong decision just because it felt right?”
― Emily Giffin, Heart of the Matter