The Tobacco Wives Quotes

“But I came to realize that none of us leave this life unscathed. Each of us experiences loss, grief, and disappointment. In fact, sometimes our most painful moments and trying times turn out to be the opportunities that bring us more fully to ourselves.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“Knowledge is power, she had argued. And conversely, the withholding of knowledge is an act of oppression.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“You think you can count on someone,” I said, panic filling my chest. “That maybe there’s one single adult in the world you can count on, someone who won’t go off and get themselves killed or leave you so they can find a new husband or go and get some little kid’s illness. It’s not fair.” I sounded like a pouty child, but I was so upset, I couldn’t help myself. “You’re right,” David said quietly. “It’s not fair.” The way he simply agreed with me was deeply comforting.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“Imagine, living like that. Not having to hold your breath every time the checkout girl rings up your groceries, not having the shame that comes when you have to put something back. Not having to worry. “That sounds real nice,” I said.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“They don’t like ambitious women, honey. Few men do.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“woman who marries for money and a man who marries for beauty are both equally robbed in the end.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“do you hear yourself? It’s not like this . . . it’s not like that . . . So what. Settle down to the task at hand. Don’t let your mind swirl around like that. Let the work take over. Focus on the job. You can do this, Maddie. You can. Repeat after me: ‘I can do this!”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“But I came to realize that none of us leave this life unscathed. Each of us experiences loss, grief, disappointment. In fact, sometimes our most painful moments and trying times turn out to be the opportunities that bring us more fully to ourselves. That life is best lived when you open yourself up to it, all of it.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“Oh, Maddie, you’ve always been wise. You had a better-developed moral compass at fifteen than I had at twice your age. Shouldn’t you be the one to finally bring all this to light? To do what I couldn’t?” She gathered her purse and stood up from the couch.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“While we are certainly pleased that our men are returning, we must not minimize the tremendous job that our women have done. They have not just kept the lights on, they have grown our business and even made improvements in our factories.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“This is why so many babies are being born premature,” she shouted, shaking the papers. “This is why women at the factory are miscarrying. This! Not the fact that they’re working, that we’re not resting enough. How dare you—you and Robert both—blame us for losing our babies. How dare you make us think it’s somehow our fault that our babies are dying, when you knew about this study. Don’t you want to know if Bright Leaf Tobacco is dangerous? What if they’re right? What if I lost our baby because of your goddamn cigarettes?”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“All I’ve ever wanted was to be a mother,” she said. “How could you keep your knowledge of such damaging information from me, Richard? How?”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“This was it. The proof I’d been looking for. Proof that Dr. Hale didn’t conduct a real study. Proof that Mr. Winston went forward with MOMints in spite of the dangers. Proof that they didn’t warn Mitzy or any of the other women, that they cared about no one but themselves and their success.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“I don’t know, Maddie,” David admitted. “But Mr. W is like a father to me and Dr. Hale has been taking care of my asthma since I was little. It’s hard to believe they would do anything to hurt anyone, especially Mimi. We should at least give them the benefit of the doubt.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“Mitzy was a devoted wife and a generous woman. In fact, until last night I might have said she was too devoted, too generous. I saw things differently now. This beautiful life she was living was not as it seemed. Her cheerful facade masked”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“My sister barely says anything at all, except when she’s working. But she’ll give you an earful on women’s rights if the mood strikes her. I—on the other hand—I’m done with all of that.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“Partly she attended the meeting for herself, but she was lucky: she had resources, family money, and connections. Most of the women employed by Bright Leaf Tobacco didn’t have any of those things. For them, it wasn’t about seeking independence or happiness. It was about survival.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“Aunt Etta liked to joke that nicotine ran in our veins. I looked over at Anthony, gripping the wheel and squinting to see the road as darkness closed in. Where would he be without Bright Leaf Tobacco Company? Where would any of us be?”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“Gosh, I didn’t even call my own mother “mommy” and I sure as heck didn’t need another momma.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“grinned back, hoping she couldn’t tell how uncomfortable I was. My Maddie. She hardly knew me. It was all too fast and familiar. She’d been so kind to me, so generous, but maybe I was just another charity case. Maybe her generosity to me was just another way for Mitzy to feel good about herself.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“No, she surely did not. Oh, maybe for a visit, but certainly not to live and work. She chose a life of leisure over adventure.” “Maybe she fell in love with him,” I said.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“As I’ve told you many times, Rose, I shall wear mauve exclusively until I’ve hooked every woman in town over the age of fifty. Then on to the next trend from Paris.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“Daddy signed up of his own accord. Why did he have to go and take that risk? Look where that got us. I was staying with Aunt Etta, who did not need an unexpected guest,”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“I had better things to do. I wouldn’t end up like Momma, leaning on a man to pay the bills. You couldn’t count on someone else to take care of you. I’d learned that the hard way.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“The way Mitzy boasted about me, someone she’d just met, was odd. Telling these ladies my business. Sending me this dress and giving me the special ticket. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, Daddy always said. It was all a little unnerving.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“Both Aunt Etta and Daddy made sure to tell me that the plantation owner took the credit for the bright leaf variety, that the slave didn’t get any mention at all until many years later. I said that wasn’t fair, and Daddy agreed with me.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“I didn’t belong here, among this sea of wealthy strangers, all of them laughing and talking, arm in arm, while I stood here not knowing what to do with my hands. I scanned the room for Anthony, but he was nowhere in sight.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“don’t need you distracting my suitors,” Momma continued, “or fussing at me for enjoying a little companionship. I think I deserve that, don’t you? I lost my husband for God’s sake.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“There are a million ways to use it,” she explained. “And thank the Lord for that. Tobacco means money for all of us. Without it, we’d be a bunch of dirt-eaters around here.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives

“The wives were married to the richest, most powerful men in Bright Leaf, the ones who owned the fields, the drying barns, the cigarette factory, practically the whole town.”
― Adele Myers, The Tobacco Wives