Crooked Hallelujah Quotes

“The wind whipped in the windows, and Justine forgot for a minute what would happen when they got home and the real questions and shouting and crying began. She couldn’t know how in a few months she’d be flooded with a crippling love for another human being that would wound her for the rest of her days, how her insides would be wiped clean, burdened, and saved by a kid who’d come kicking into this world with Justine’s own blue eyes, a full head of black hair, and lips Justine would swear looked just like a rosebud. For now, that little car filled with three—almost four—generations flew. And when they dropped over the top of the hill, Justine threw her hands up, her mouth agape in wonder.”
― Kelli Jo Ford, Crooked Hallelujah

“I lean my head over onto Mother’s shoulder and think about a new apocalypse unconstrained by precedent or the absurdity of town borders. Words run through my head: Mother and plenty of water. Safe haven and plenty to eat. Understanding and safety for the man driving us, love. I can’t tell if I’m begging for these things or thanking something or someone or both. As if awoken from a dream, Mother looks down on me and says, It’s been forever since I’ve watched the sun go down from the hill.”
― Kelli Jo Ford, Crooked Hallelujah

“She’s survived a lifetime of these miracles, which trace back to Daddy emptying the bank account and leaving her with three girls and half an art education degree to pay the bills. There were the nervous breakdowns. Forty years of loneliness and untreated seizures. The miracle of antiepileptic drugs she won’t take because Moses didn’t think to bring them up in Deuteronomy. And now this stroke. If she could talk, I know she’d say, “Count it all joy.”
― Kelli Jo Ford, Crooked Hallelujah

“My mom told those old stories like she talks about a lot of stuff, like it’s a little bit of a favorite joke she loves to tell and a little bit of a sorry memory she wishes she could forget.”
― Kelli Jo Ford, Crooked Hallelujah