Only Ashes Remain Quotes

“Sometimes she could see the monster inside him. And sometimes he made her see the monster inside herself.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“He’s been found evil. And if you tell someone they’re bad long enough, they’ll believe it. Especially children.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“No one is perfect. No one is exactly who you want them to be. There is something in every person, even your closest friend, that you don’t like.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“I just don’t want you to ever not see me. I know so many people see me as nothing more than a tool for pain. But the other side of the coin is when people make excuses for everything I do. They blame it on a tragic past. On what I am. As though WHO you are is defined by WHAT you are.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“I think, more than anything, people like to feel superior to others. Canadians like to feel that they’re better than Americans. Americans love to feel they’re better than the whole world. And when people feel superior, it makes it harder for them to see the problems just beneath the surface. They don’t want to believe them, to face them, because if they did, can they really claim to be superior anymore?”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“All lives are hard. But some leave you alive, and some leave you dead.”
•pg.240 - Nita”
― Rebecca Schaeffer , Only Ashes Remain

“But I can’t pick and choose what aspects of a person I want and make a new person for myself. That’s not how it works.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“I can't promise I won't make mistakes again. I can't promise I won't freak out when you do something that scares me. I'm not perfect. But I can promise I'll always try, and I'll always be on your side.”
•pg.381 - Nita”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“I am not a good person. But I am a person. I make my own choices.”
•pg.181 - Kovit”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“Nita, stop...Stop justifying me. Henry didn't make me who I am. My mother didn't make me who I am. I made me who I am. i can see the justifications going through your brain. If Henry hadn't praised me, I wouldn't have done awful things. If Henry hadn't brought me people and enabled me, if henry hadn't taken away consequence for crime...if if if. If everything were different, who would I be? But the plain fact is, no matter how many ifs had changed, I'd still be me. Maybe not this me, here with you. But I'd always be a zannie, Nita. I like what I am. I like hurting people. I know so many people...make excuses for everything I do. They blame it on a tragic past. On what I am. As though who you are is defined by what you are. You once told me I could get my food from hospital emergency rooms. Or maybe palliative care wards. You're right, I could. And it's a choice not to...I am not a good person. But I am a person. I make my own choices.
- Kovit”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“What if Kovit went back? The idea of being alone didn’t bother her. Nita could and would handle herself if she needed to. But the thought of losing Kovit, of having him turn away from her because she couldn’t handle him and he wanted someone who could, made her sick.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“No one likes to be wrong. So sometimes, when something proves us wrong, it just makes us more fervent in our belief of it. But it's okay to be wrong.”
•pg.226 - Adair”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“Something inside her relaxed at that, at the knowledge that this weird, amorphous thing in her wasn't one-sided, that he wanted her the way she wanted him.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“So don't try to tell me you're better than me, when all you've done is express tacit agreement for the Family and their choices with your inaction. Your silence is deafening.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“You've picked the path you want. And I will always respect that. It's your path to walk, not mine to criticize.”
•pg.381 - Nita”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“No one is perfect. No one is exactly who you want them to be. There is something in every person, even your closest friend, that you don't like.”
•pg.374 - Nita's thoughts”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“Sometimes she could see the monster inside him. And sometimes he made her see the monster inside herself.”
•pg.285”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“Every time someone thinks about me and imagines who I'd be in another life, they take away the choices I've made in this life. They make it seem like I was crammed into a life I didn't want.” He closed his eyes. “They take away my power in my own life. Build me up in their minds into a person I'm not. How is that any different than the people who only see me as a tool or a monster?” - Kovit

“I suppose it's not. Just a different side of one-dimensional.” - Nita
•pg.181 - Kovit, Nita”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“How many secrets does it take before it's all a lie?”
•pg.98 - Kovit”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“And most people judge you the instant they meet you, if not before. I want to make sure they judge me the way I want them to.”
•pg.54 - Quispe”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“His hand brushed her side and came up to her chin, tilting her face to his. His eyes flicked back and forth, as though searching for an answer in her eyes or her blush or her tingling mouth

Then he pressed his forehead against hers and breathed her name. 'Nita.'

Her whole body was hot, and the areas pressed against him burned. Her breathing was sharp, and her throat was choked with butterflies she couldn't make a sound.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“Maybe that's what friends are, then. People who say the things that you need to hear.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“Nita found a wallet and cell phone, which she pocketed, and another gun, which she shoved in Kovit's waistband. He gave her a look like, 'Why are you shoving guns down my pants?' And she just shrugged like, 'Well where else do I put it?”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“I can't resist. Every time they come in, they always think the same damn thing. Kelpie, water, basement murder chamber." The kelpie grinned at her, eyes dancing with mischief. "Really, if they'd stop stereotyping, then the pranks wouldn't work.”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“I can't resist. Every time they come in, they always think the same damn thing. Kelpie, water, basement murder chamber." The kelpie grinned at her, eyes dancing with mischief. "Really, if they'd stop stereotyping, then the pranks wouldn't work."

~Adair to Nita”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“But I can't pick and choose what aspects of a person I want and make a new person for myself. That's not how it works.”
•pg.381 - Nita”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“I'm sorry. I just don't want you to ever not see me. I know so many people see me as nothing more than a tool for pain. But the other side of the coin is when people make excuses for everything I do. They blame it on a tragic past. On what I am. As though who you are is defined by what you are.”
•pg.180 - Kovit”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain

“But the plain fact is, no matter how many ifs had changed, I'd still be me. Maybe not this me, here with you. But I'd always be a zannie, Nita. I like what I am. I like hurting people.”
•pg.180 - Kovit”
― Rebecca Schaeffer, Only Ashes Remain