Survival Lessons Quotes

“Sometimes I think we can learn everything we need to know about the world when we read fairy tales. Be careful, be fearless, be honest, leave a trail of crumbs to lead you home again.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“In my family, a book can be a life raft.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“It's not easy. It never is. That is the secret our parents fail to tell us, out of kindness and love, but it's a secret we need to know. Everything that begins, ends. Everything beautiful disappears.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“But when it comes to most skills, failure is the only way to become better at something. Knitting teaches you that. You may have to unwind all of your stitches and start anew. That doesn’t mean you’ve wasted your time. You learn from every stitch, even those that don’t amount to anything. All writers should be made to knit a hat before they start writing a novel. It would help with understanding the importance of revision, and that the process is what can bring you the most”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“Life is beautiful, just very unfair.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“My expectations of what I wanted in a man I learned from a dog: loyalty and kindness.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“Every woman is only one bad boyfriend or one bad choice away from the street. And she’s only one good choice back to the path that will lead her home.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“The music of your youth stays with you and winds itself around your heart. I hear one chord of "Strawberry Fields Forever" or "Satisfaction" and am instantly back in time. It doesn't matter where I am, suddenly I'm walking through the woods, I'm in my best friend's room ...”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“When you help others, your own troubles aren't as heavy. In fact, you can fold them like a handkerchief and place them in your pocket. They're still there, but they're not the only thing you carry.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“She allowed me to understand I'd done everything I could for her, and that I, and everyone who loved her, had to step away and go on living.

Now I know what she wanted from me on the day she told me she was afraid. It was exactly what I wanted when I had cancer and I thought I was going to die. I should have sat down next to her, put my arms around her, and told her that I loved her. That's all anyone wants. It took me a long time to figure this out. It's a complicated human puzzle. But it's never too late to know that love is all you need.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“Love is complicated, love can be hidden, love, above all else, is loyalty.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“There's a very thin line that separates readers and writers. You make a leap over that line when there’s a book you want to read and you can’t find it and you have to write it yourself.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“I did my best to pretend it wasn't so. ... I didn't have time to be ill.

Now I know you can't run away by ignoring the truth. Truth follows you; it comes in through open windows and drifts under doors.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“The truth is, some of your closest friends may disappear during your most difficult times. These people have their own history and traumas; they may not be able to deal with yours. They may belong to the before.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“Because we were Russian, sadness came naturally to us. But so did reading. In my family, a book was a life raft.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“Your sorrow will become smaller, like a star in the daylight that you can't even see. It's there, shining, but there is also a vast expanse of blue sky.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“If people aren't there for you now, when you really need them, they never will be, and it's time to move on. You'll be amazed by how many new friends you have in the after. They'll be the ones who aren't afraid of sorrow, who know we can't avoid it. The best we can do is face it together.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“ALICE HOFFMAN FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“Maclin’s Brownies Melt 9 ounces of Nestle’s semi-sweet chocolate bits over hot water (double boiler!) with 1 stick butter cut into pieces. Beat 2 eggs with ½ cup white sugar until thick. Add ½ cup white flour, sifted with ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon baking powder. Add the chocolate mixture and 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 cup (or less if you prefer) of walnut bits. Pour batter into 8” x 8” greased pan. Mix about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar with 1 teaspoon of melted butter and dot the top of the brownies. Bake at 375° for about 20 minutes, sometimes longer. Test with a toothpick. Cool on a rack after baking. When brownies have cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar (you may use a doily set over brownies if you prefer a sugar pattern). Choose Your Friends”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“In a last card to me she wrote: Life is beautiful, just very unfair.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“But the traits I once deplored are the ones I now appreciate most. My mother possessed a true gift: she had the ability to enjoy herself. She saw the beauty of the world.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“Fifteen years after being diagnosed with cancer, I’ve become something I never imagined I’d be. I’m a survivor.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“Pour batter into 8” x 8” greased pan. Mix about 2 tablespoons of brown sugar with 1 teaspoon of melted butter and dot the top of the brownies. Bake at 375° for about 20 minutes, sometimes longer. Test with a toothpick. Cool on a rack after baking. When brownies have cooled, sprinkle with powdered sugar (you may use a doily set over brownies if you prefer a sugar pattern).”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“All the same, some things stay with you forever. You are a different person now. You know it and I know it. You’re not the same. You’re a survivor. Congratulations.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons

“In a novel, you'll find yourself in a world of possibilities. You'll find shelter there.”
― Alice Hoffman, Survival Lessons