Isola Quotes

“I myself was now an island. Solitary. Brambles and five-petalled flowers were my garden. Rocks my furniture. Ocean waves my lessons. Sadness overwhelmed me and sank back. Then, like the tide, joy crept in on me again.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“I never knew my mother. She died the night that I was born, and so we passed each other in the dark…”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“My guardian served as my protector, but I had no one to protect me from him.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“I wept for joy because I could escape, and for sorrow I must leave alone.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“I walked down to the shore, and the waves were shining. The sun was bright, but I was hollow. I thought, How will I live without another soul? And then I thought, What will I live for?”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Like the birds, Auguste and I slept in open air. Gratefully we rested without enemies, and looking up at the dark sky, we counted ourselves rich in stars.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“As I have said, my daughter, no matter what virtue and goodness you see in yourself or others, know that in this world, not one in a thousand escapes without some deception or attack on her honor, no matter how good or perfect.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Those who know their faults are truly wise,” the Queen said. “And those who have endured the worst have most to teach. Do not say, then, that your story does not deserve retelling. Tell me, rather, how I might reward you for offering what you have learned.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“I looked upon the Virgin and received no blessings. She was not my holy intercessor, nor could she be my companion. Not she who had allowed Auguste to die and watched my child starve. She, who smiled while Damienne stopped breathing.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“When the snow came, I walked in darkness. If Auguste had lived, we would have comforted each other. If my child had lived, I would have sheltered him and kept him warm. With Damienne, I would have prayed—if not for myself, for her sake. But I was left alone, and so I did not eat, or bank the fire, or pray. No one watched me; no one noticed what I did, and I had no one left to love.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“As I have said, my daughter, no matter what virtue and goodness you see in yourself or others, know that in this world, not one in a thousand escapes without some deception or attack on her honor, no matter how good or perfect. Therefore, for greatest safety, I counsel you to guard against all private meetings, no matter how pleasant, because, as you have seen, many honest beginnings come to a bad end.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Vanity, vanity, taught Madame D’Artois. Everything we treasure has a price. And everything we have will slip away. She told us we were dust and our lives brief as grass. We might understand this if we were truly wise—but I lacked wisdom.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“He would destroy us by leaving us alone.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“know that in this world, not one in a thousand escapes without some deception or attack on her honor, no matter how good or perfect.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“am sure Damienne prayed for protection, and Claire prayed for our safe journey, but I prayed for nothing. All I wanted was what I could not have, which was to stay.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Filling these packets and wood boxes, I felt a joy I had not known before. It was not love, and it was not comfort, nor was it mastery or beauty, but it was usefulness.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“because, as you have seen, many honest beginnings come to a bad end.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Not if it’s wrong.” “Most fun things are,” she told me.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Like any animal, I would starve if I went lame.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Yes.” I turned to Auguste, and I thought how rare he was to”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“He slept and woke again but could not eat or drink. He lifted his head and then fell back. His face was white, and all his warmth and light began to fade. All he said and knew, all that he believed and loved, began to sink away, and as I was his, I felt that I was dying with him. (chap. 27)”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“listen.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Testament.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“left”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“I understand what it is like to be a man."
"God forbid," said Damienne.
But I said, "To be man is to have your way."
"And is that good?" she said. "And is it right?"
"It is satisfying," I told her.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“This was my prayer. Not for rescue or escape, but for my soul, which had been sick. I gazed at waves rising and shattering, and this was my resolve—to remember myself as God remembered me.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Your master has often warned me not to play the fool, and I am taking his advice.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Those who know their faults are truly wise,”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“Oh, but tomorrow never comes,”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola

“The first point, above all others, is that earnestly and with all your faith and power, you guard against doing, saying, or thinking anything that will anger God. Never allow the subtle temptations of the world, the flesh, or the Devil to seize you. So that you live more chastely and guard yourself from sin, remember as Augustine says that you cannot be sure of a single hour.”
― Allegra Goodman, Isola