The Other Alcott Quotes

“Time stretched before her in an endless, predictable path of banal routines—”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott

“for now she was not the only one stumbling through the dark looking for an elusive sense of connection with the wider world.”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott

“But you have to ignore all of that and work endlessly to make your visions a reality. Stake a claim on your ambitions. If you wait around for other people to define you, you’ll be saddled with their expectations—”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott

“Walter amused them with a story of one of his students who had been caught cheating; the boy wrote some formulas for algebraic equations on his hand, and then rested his cheek in the same hand, as he worked on the exam, only to finish with the inked answers stamped across his face.”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott

“Take a long, scenic walk back to your rooms. Look around you. More than anything, we need to work on how we see our surroundings. Beauty is everywhere, and it’s up to us to find it and communicate it in our art so others may see it.”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott

“And the sooner you abandon the idea that life is fair, you will be more productive. This world doesn’t owe us a thing.”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott

“Anna and the boys escorted me into Boston last week to meet with Mr. Niles about your book. Afterward, we rode on these marvelous little pontoons called Swan Boats in the Public Garden. An inventive fellow has capitalized on the bicycle craze and created a paddle-wheel boat in which the driver propels the boat by peddling—all while the driver’s presence is covered up by the statue of an enormous swan. Apparently, he was inspired by the German opera “Lohengrin” in which a knight of the Grail must cross the river in a boat disguised as a swan to rescue his princess. And you’ve said Boston has no culture! You would love the romance of these beautiful boats. Sadly, the man who invented the fanciful little fleet perished unexpectedly, yet his wife wants to keep the operation afloat.”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott

“I can always count on you to be opinionated and honest, yet you don’t judge. It’s a rare combination.”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott

“Why did people always think she was so lucky? She worked like the devil to make good things happen.”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott

“Marmee delivered to the poor. How many baskets could she make from this meal to deliver to families in the slums of Boston’s West End? Her family had its weaknesses but squandering blessings was not one of them.”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott

“Better.” He nodded. “When in doubt, think back to the basic shapes to guide your work—triangles, circles, rectangles—there’s a system.”
― Elise Hooper, The Other Alcott