The Life She Was Given Quotes

“Then again, she didn't like small talk either, so she was glad he wasn't commenting on the weather or the landscape. Life was too big and too short and too important to talk about the lack of rain or the latest gossip. She wanted to know how people felt about themselves and one another, whether they were happy or sad. She wanted to know what made them feel loved and what hurt them to the core. She wanted to know about their past, how they got where they were, and their relationships with their mothers and fathers and siblings. She wanted to know if she was the only mixed-up person in the world who felt completely and utterly alone.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“She didn't want to think about unhappy things right now. And besides, thinking about her past wouldn't change her future.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“So you see, it all depends on which side of the fence you're looking from.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“You can’t punish a mother for acting like a mother, or an animal for acting like an animal.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“How could you miss something you never had?”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“People get mad at animals for acting like animals all the time.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“It’s all right, go ahead and cry. You have every right to be sad and mad and scared and all of those things. It’s not fair what your momma did to you.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“All this time, she thought she was a monster. All this time, her parents had been lying to her. All this time, she had been locked in the attic for no reason. She pushed herself up on wobbly legs and brushed the grass from her dress, the world a blur through her tears.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“The world was almost too much.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“Life was too big and too short and too important to talk about the lack of rain or the latest gossip. She wanted to know how people felt about themselves and one another, whether they were happy or sad. She wanted to know what made them feel loved and what hurt them to the core. She wanted to know about their past, how they got where they were, and their relationships with their mothers and fathers and siblings. She wanted to know if she was the only mixed-up person in the world who felt completely and utterly”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“When she told Fletcher what had happened, he said people who were cold and aggressive were not happy people. They treated others the way they did because they were unhappy within themselves. She wasn't sure if she believed him, but she appreciated his efforts to help. After all, she had been unhappy most of her life, and she always tried hard, maybe too hard, to be kind to others. She had heard the saying that those who hurt others had been hurt themselves. But she didn't believe that either. She had been hurt and knew how awful it felt, so she tried not to hurt anyone. Maybe some people never learned.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“The thought of foals being taken away from their mothers, ripped without warning from everything familiar and loved, then starved, clubbed, or sold for meat, tore her heart to shreds. Tears filled her eyes as she imagined Blue and the nurse mare, scared and confused and frantic, wondering why someone had taken their babies. She could almost feel the horrible, heavy pain in their chests, the terror and helplessness in their minds. It didn't matter that they were animals. Mares still possessed the maternal instinct. She had seen it with her own eyes when Bonnie Blue looked back at her newborn filly. It was love at first sight. Her mother had never looked at her that way, but Julia had studied enough interactions between mothers and daughters to recognize unconditional love when she saw it.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“How come I'm not married?" He raised his palms as if confessing a crime. "I guess I just haven't found the right person yet. After all, it takes a special woman to appreciate someone like me. I'm handsome, charming, well educated. And who could resist a guy who wears shit-covered boots and sticks their hands up cows' asses all day?”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“Lilly made a face. She didn't have a gift. The elephants liked and trusted her. That was all. Her cat, Abby, used to be the same way. She did what Lilly wanted because they loved and trusted each other. Maybe people didn't give animals enough credit. They were smarter and had more feelings than anyone realized.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“The only thing between Lilly and the elephant was a rope, hanging across the front of the two-sided stall. A heavy chain wrapped around the elephant's back ankle, then attached to a thick stake in the ground. Looking up at the powerful beast, the walled-in feeling of being locked in her room returned, and the heavy, horrible ache of missing home. The sensations were so strong they nearly brought her to her knees. It was almost as if she could feel the elephant's misery, like she had with the lion, except this time, there was something else too, something that felt like tenderness. Was it possible that this powerful animal cared about people, even after everything they had done to it, even after they had caged it, tied it in ropes and chains, and forced it to perform? Lilly's eyes grew moist. More than anything, she wanted to go into the stall and comfort the elephant, to stroke its head and explain she understood what it felt like to be held prisoner, and to still love someone who hurt you. But she didn't dare.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“For some reason, she wanted to be with the animals more than the people. She couldn't describe how she felt about the animals or why she had such a strong need to see them, because she didn't understand it herself. But it was one of the reasons she was brave enough to venture out for the first time on her own. Maybe she was drawn to them because they understood what it was like to be locked up, with no control over what happened next. Maybe it was because her cat was the only one who had never let her down. Or maybe her love of animals was part of who she was, like the way her left foot turned in slightly, the way her fingers were long and thin, and the way her skin was white as snow. Whatever the cause, seeing the baby elephant and the other animals was the only thing she cared about right now.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“My parents left him there when he was five because some people think when a person looks different on the outside, they're different on the inside too." She looked at Lilly. "But we know that's not true, right?"
Lilly nodded.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“Then again, she didn’t like small talk either, so she was glad he wasn’t commenting on the weather or landscape. Life was too big and too short and too important to talk about the lack of rain or the latest gossip. She wanted to know how people felt about themselves and one another, whether they were happy or sad. She wanted to know what made them feel loved and what hurt them to the core. She wanted to know about their past, how they got where they were, and their relationships with their mothers and fathers and siblings. She wanted to know if she was the only mixed-up person in the world who felt completely and utterly alone.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“Life was too big and too short and too important to talk about the lack of rain or the latest gossip. She wanted to know how people felt about themselves and one another, whether they were happy or sad. She wanted to know what made them feel loved and what hurt them to the core. She wanted to know about their past, how they got where they were, and their relationships with their mothers and fathers and siblings. She wanted to know if she was the only mixed-up person in the world who felt completely and utterly alone.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“he said people who were cold and aggressive were not happy people. They treated others the way they did because they were unhappy within themselves. She wasn’t sure if she believed him, but she appreciated his efforts to help. After all, she had been unhappy most of her life, and she always tried hard, maybe too hard, to be kind to others. She had heard the saying that those who hurt others had been hurt themselves. But she didn’t believe that either. She had been hurt and knew how awful it felt, so she tried not to hurt anyone. Maybe some people never learned.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“She felt disconnected; as if it were happening to someone else, or it would end soon, like a nightmare or practical joke. Someone or something would wake her and she’d find out it was all a dream, she was sure of it.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“It was horrible and inconceivable and unreal.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“the pain she must be in now, not only from her physical wounds, but from her shattered heart. How was she even breathing?”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“She could barely breathe. She turned her head and closed her eyes, then felt herself going somewhere else, like a dropped coin spiraling to the bottom of a lake.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“And suddenly it broke, the horrible realization that she had been cheated out of a normal life came over her, and a soundless cry tore from her chest.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“The idea that this was a test crossed her mind again. Maybe Mother wanted to prove once and for all that bad things happened if you didn’t follow the rules. But what Mother didn’t know was that Julia planned on following the rules. Except this time, they were going to be her own.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“She wanted to know what made them feel loved and what hurt them to the core. She wanted to know about their past, how they got where they were, and their relationships with their mothers and fathers and siblings. She wanted to know if she was the only mixed-up person in the world who felt completely and utterly alone.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“after she discovered the truth about”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“show in Hutchinson, Kansas, a twister just missed us. I won’t ever forget the way that air smelled.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given

“she can recoup your losses by working for Josephine in the cooch show.”
― Ellen Marie Wiseman, The Life She Was Given