Every Precious and Fragile Thing Quotes

“I like scarred things. They’ve lived interesting lives—hard lives—and managed to survive.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“For most of us, there’s someone—one person—whose soul we know as well as our own. The one we’re meant for. The one who’s meant for us. We know it the minute we meet them. We feel it. A recognition we sense in our bones. And it never goes away . . .” She paused, blinking away a sudden shimmer of tears. “Even when they do.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“the first step in healing after any tragedy is to look our pain in the eye and accept the fact that it’s a part of who we’ll be going forward.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“This is the business of dying well. The sorting out of what’s worth the fight and what’s not. The peeling off of old resentments. The laying down of arms. It’s a time of reckoning, of balancing our books and paying those we owe. But when done well, with clear eyes and an open heart, we learn to cherish those last precious days, and perhaps even to be grateful. We realize at long last that life in this world is finite, and with our wicks beginning to burn low, we cast about for other sources of light. For memory and meaning. For love stripped of need or wound. Pure, perfected, peaceful. This is transition. Not a fight, but an easing, an embrace of the eternal, of who and what we will be on the other side. Complete.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“feel a bit like Job—for the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“We’re reminded to spend the time we have left on what’s truly meaningful, to lay down the things we can’t control—things we finally realize we’ve never controlled—and live in the moment. We start looking back instead of always ahead, and feel a profound sense of gratitude for all we’ve been given. The acceptance has to come first. Then comes the grace. And sometimes, even joy.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“Helen dragged her eyes back from the sea. “We’re all dying, sweetheart. All of us. Every day. We get out of bed every morning and we do our work. We make our contributions—or at least try to—but when our time comes, young or old, rich or poor, we all die.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“Life hands us all our share of regrets. Don’t live with the ones you don’t have to. Mend your fences while you can—as soon as you can. If”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“Life hands us all our share of regrets. Don’t live with the ones you don’t have to. Mend your fences while you can—as soon as you can. If someone needs you, be there, whatever it costs. Because you might not get another chance.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“Motherhood doesn’t come with a set of instructions. Sometimes, the box arrives damaged and some of the pieces are missing. But you own it now, this job you weren’t ready for, and so you muddle through. You make mistakes, sometimes horrible ones, and there’s nothing to do but live with them.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“Mothers aren’t supposed to have yesterdays. To our children, we’re blank slates, patiently awaiting their appearance so our lives can finally begin. In their minds, we’ve kept no secrets, dreamed no dreams, committed no sins. But few of us come to motherhood unmarked by life. We’ve had pasts and passions—and yes, regrets.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“Mothers aren’t supposed to have yesterdays. To our children, we’re blank slates, patiently awaiting their appearance so our lives can finally begin. In their minds, we’ve kept no secrets, dreamed no dreams, committed no sins. But few of us come to motherhood unmarked by life. We’ve had pasts and passions—and yes, regrets. I’ve certainly had my share—and still have.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“Mothers are complicated. You grow up thinking you know who they are. And then something happens and you realize they have all these layers, pieces of themselves you didn’t know were there—because they’ve been carrying around stuff you knew nothing about. But maybe it goes the other way too. Maybe mothers don’t always see their children as they really are.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“We can only bury our pain so long before it finds its way out.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“But the first step in healing after any tragedy is to look our pain in the eye and accept the fact that it’s a part of who we’ll be going forward.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“Mothers are complicated. You grow up thinking you know who they are. And then something happens and you realize they have all these layers, pieces of themselves you didn’t know were there—because they’ve been carrying around stuff you knew nothing about. But maybe it goes the other way too. Maybe mothers don’t always see their children as they really are. I think your mother is starting to figure it out, though. She seems ready to let go a little—to let you be you. I think it might be an opportunity to connect as adults rather than just mother and son.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“Beauty—and the vanity that sometimes comes with it—is often confused with dignity. But that kind of beauty is never more than skin deep, while dignity is rooted in our humanity, in our very soul, a birthright we either cling to or surrender.”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing

“Mallory released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as”
― Barbara Davis, Every Precious and Fragile Thing