Sea of Memories Quotes

“you have a choice. You can either let the pain overwhelm you, defining your life from that point on – perhaps even ending it or, at best, consigning you to a living death – or you can find a way to bear it, to carry it with you and still go on living.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“you can’t always choose what life throws at you. But you always have a choice in how you deal with it.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“So, is it wrong to dream, to want the things we don’t have?’ ‘No, my darling, never give up your dreams. But just make sure they don’t distract you too much from the good things that there are in your day-to-day life, even if that life is by no means perfect. Because there always are good things”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“I think the biggest mistake I made was not to see that the imperfect reality was worth so much more than the perfect dream.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Do you remember what I told you? About the philosophy behind this? That something which is unique has its own beauty that can never be destroyed; that it’s always worth mending, even when it’s broken; and that the fractures and the scars become part of the beauty too, making the piece even more remarkable, even more precious.” And then she said, “Heal your heart, Ella. Let Angus help you. Mend your marriage with veins of the purest gold and remake it, better and stronger than before.” And we did. Because, you see, Kendra, I fell in love with your grandfather all over again. Caroline was right: our love was worth mending. In the end, we made the scars part of the beauty of our marriage.’ She”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“But you see, Kendra dear, you have a choice. You can either let the pain overwhelm you, defining your life from that point on – perhaps even ending it or, at best, consigning you to a living death – or you can find a way to bear it, to carry it with you and still go on living. As you well know yourself, you can’t always choose what life throws at you. But you always have a choice in how you deal with it.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Do you wish you’d done anything differently?’ I ask. ‘Of course. With hindsight we always see things so much more clearly. But at the time we muddle through, trying to make the best decisions we can, but making all sorts of mistakes along the way. I think the biggest mistake I made was not realising that there are so many different kinds of love. And that there is room for them all. No one excludes the others.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“you have a choice. You can either let the pain overwhelm you, defining your life from that point on – perhaps even ending it or, at best, consigning you to a living death – or you can find a way to bear it, to carry it with you and still go on living. As you well know yourself, you can’t always choose what life throws at you. But you always have a choice in how you deal with it.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“down”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Cei care pot fac; cei care nu pot ii invata pe altii”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Do you remember what I told you? About the philosophy behind this? That something which is unique has its own beauty that can never be destroyed; that it’s always worth mending, even when it’s broken; and that the fractures and the scars become part of the beauty too, making the piece even more remarkable, even more precious.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“She pauses to take a sip of tea. ‘You know, I think the biggest mistake I made was not to see that the imperfect reality was worth so much more than the perfect dream.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“the secret to making a marriage work is a lot like sailing a boat: if you have too much anchor and no sail then you will feel trapped; but if there is too much sail and not enough anchor, that doesn’t work either. You need to try to find the balance between the two and then steer a course that is true. And, she said, the way you do that is with the compass of your morality and the rudder of your soul.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Rhona and Robbie knew their father had been in the army in the war, and that I’d been in the WAAF. But, to children, life before they were born is ancient history, so they were never really that interested in knowing more.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“find the beauty in your life, even in the most difficult times.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“It seems to me that your generation probably has the worst of both worlds – expectations too high and opportunities far more limited, suddenly. It’s a toxic combination.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“The war changed everything, in ways we could never have imagined. From the most mundane aspects of our daily lives to the broadest principles of the world as a whole – everything we had once known, everything we’d taken for granted, was altered by that terrible war.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Auginti vaikus – vienas labiausiai bauginančių, svaiginančių, jaudinančių ir laimės teikiančių iššūkių, kokius tik gali pasiūlyti gyvenimas.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Meilės rūšių esama įvairių. Ir kad visoms joms širdy yra vietos. Nė viena neišstumia kitos.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Kartais užtrunka, kol imame geriau pažinti žmogų, o kai kurių taip niekada ir neperkandame. Bet būna tokių, su kuriais suartėji akimirksniu.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“The sea breezes are good for the health of grapes as well as people”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Maybe that is the only comfort we can find now, in the knowledge that we are not alone in our pain and suffering,”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Does she long for the freedom of her youth? The sweeping white sands and an infinite ocean stretching before her? The possibilities of love and a life to be lived? Or is it enough to hold all of that as a distant memory? The contentment of a life well-lived? Perhaps that’s the inevitable parabola of life – a trajectory of hope and desire which rises to a crescendo and then tails off into the wistful acceptance of old”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“The distraction of a fantasy can make reality seem harder to bear, I suppose.’ She pauses to take a sip of tea. ‘You know, I think the biggest mistake I made was not to see that the imperfect reality was worth so much more than the perfect dream.’ I”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“You need to try to find the balance between the two and then steer a course that is true. And, she said, the way you do that is with the compass of your morality and the rudder of your soul.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“the secret to making a marriage work is a lot like sailing a boat: if you have too much anchor and no sail then you will feel trapped; but if there is too much sail and not enough anchor, that doesn’t work either.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“that the secret to making a marriage work is a lot like sailing a boat: if you have too much anchor and no sail then you will feel trapped; but if there is too much sail and not enough anchor, that doesn’t work either. You need to try to find the balance between the two and then steer a course that is true. And, she said, the way you do that is with the compass of your morality and the rudder of your soul.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“discarding memories in the same way that she’s discarded so many of her possessions, paring back her life to just the bare essentials. Downsizing not just her accommodation, but her life, her whole being, as her days draw to a close.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“The distraction of a fantasy can make reality seem harder to bear, I suppose.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories

“Do you remember what I told you? About the philosophy behind this? That something which is unique has its own beauty that can never be destroyed; that it’s always worth mending, even when it’s broken; and that the fractures and the scars become part of the beauty too, making the piece even more remarkable, even more precious.” And then she said, “Heal your heart, Ella. Let Angus help you. Mend your marriage with veins of the purest gold and remake it, better and stronger than before.” And we did. Because, you see, Kendra, I fell in love with your grandfather all over again. Caroline was right: our love was worth mending. In the end, we made the scars part of the beauty of our marriage.”
― Fiona Valpy, Sea of Memories