The Storyteller of Casablanca Quotes

“But if we leave out some of the important bits of the truth – or choose to ignore them – then surely we are living a lie? And that is no way to live at all, is it?”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“You know, I used to think of myself as a tiny drop in the ocean of life. But I’ve come to see that I am not a drop in the ocean: I’m an entire ocean in one tiny drop. There is no answer to your question, Zoe. Some things are impossible to move on from – instead, you have to find a way to live with them. The secret is to open your heart, even as it breaks. Because that’s when you discover that you have the capacity to contain it all – the pain and the love, the dark and the light. Just like the ocean. Finding the strength to do so can be quite a challenge, and it takes time. But, in the end, it’s facing up to the truth that will set you free.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“even when the tangled web of life and love and loss and grief becomes too much to bear, it’s still possible to keep on living.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“I couldn’t believe that something could look so very ordinary and unremarkable on the outside and hide such a beautiful treasure within.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“kindness is one of the most important things in the world but a lot of people seem to have forgotten that nowadays.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“The ocean is big enough to take your grief and keep it safe for you, freeing up space in your heart for other things.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“I don’t know if I would ever want to be married, unless the man was very kind like my papa or Felix. I think I’d probably rather have animals instead, like Josephine Baker.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“I have my own problems, that’s for sure, but that still shouldn’t stop me from trying to help those whose problems are even greater than mine.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“Some things are impossible to move on from – instead, you have to find a way to live with them. The secret is to open your heart, even as it breaks. Because that’s when you discover that you have the capacity to contain it all – the pain and the love, the dark and the light. Just like the ocean. Finding the strength to do so can be quite a challenge, and it takes time. But, in the end, it’s facing up to the truth that will set you free.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“Because that’s when you discover that you have the capacity to contain it all – the pain and the love, the dark and the light. Just like the ocean.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“used to think of myself as a tiny drop in the ocean of life. But I’ve come to see that I am not a drop in the ocean: I’m an entire ocean in one tiny drop.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“we know we are not walking this path alone. We are a part of something much bigger. We are the storytellers and the quilt-makers and the dreamsellers of this world. We are the ones who dare to hope. In”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“Tree of Life represents the hope of new beginnings, even as the leaves relinquish their hold and flutter to the ground in the autumn wind.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“I’m stronger than I know. She also said it’s only when you let go of fear and grief that you will find your freedom.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“It took a storyteller to come and open all our eyes to other possibilities.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“Kenza’s Recipe for Ghoribas: (Makes about 50 small cookies) 2 eggs plus 1 separated egg ½ a tea glass of sugar ½ a tea glass of melted butter 3 large spoonfuls of honey 4 tea glasses of flour (Sift the flour with 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and 1 teaspoon of cream of tartar) A pinch of salt Zest of an orange In a big mixing bowl beat together the 2 eggs plus the white of the separated egg (keep the yolk aside for later) and the sugar. Add the butter, honey and orange zest and beat some more. Then carefully mix in the sifted flour until the cookie dough comes together, soft enough to be rolled into little balls between your hands. Put the balls of dough on to a buttered tray and brush with the beaten egg yolk. Bake in the oven for 10–15 minutes. Josie’s Journal – Tuesday 29th April, 1941 Maman had organised a meeting at our house this morning for ladies who were interested in supporting the work of the Committee for Assistance of Foreign Refugees.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“Some things are impossible to move on from – instead, you have to find a way to live with them. The secret is to open your heart, even as it breaks. Because that’s when you discover that you have the capacity to contain it all – the pain and the love, the dark and the light.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“We rode back slowly and I took some deep breaths of the country air, which smelled so good – of the horses, and the leather of their tack, and the faint scent of blossom from a line of almond trees that we passed.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“It reminds me of the dreamseller’s words to Josie about the moon being able to fill an infinite number of bowls of water. My love for my daughter is the same, I think: my heart overflows with it; as infinite as moonlight.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“How is it possible to lie so close to someone and still to feel so alone?”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“When the moon shines on one hundred bowls of water, no matter where they are, each bowl is filled with moonlight. Remember that when you wake in the night. The moon that shines on you here is a reminder that love is like the moon in those bowls of water – it is everywhere. Your bad dreams come from the fear and the sadness you carry with you. It’s now time to let them go. Love and courage are stronger than those things. It’s only when you let go of fear and grief, though, that you will find the freedom to be brave and to love fully.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“love wandering through its rows of tall bookshelves, feeling as if I can not only hide away from the world there but even escape into other worlds between the covers of all those lovely books.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“There’s a pomegranate tree and the air smells of the jasmine that scrambles up the walls and over a trellised archway”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“I can read a whole book in a day if I’m not interrupted too many times by annoying things like having to tidy my room and go to the shops with Maman and Annette.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“We like to think we learned lessons from those wars and yet history continues to repeat itself, year after year.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“imagined I was in a vast cathedral or mosque or synagogue and suddenly I saw that it didn’t matter which it was or which particular version of God you believed in because faith was something deeper and stronger, something like that music drawn from the rocks pulsing through my body, more powerful than any words written down by mankind.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“She sees that your heart is filled with grief. You need to go to the ocean. Write the names of the things you’ve lost on stones you will find there and then cast them away into the waters. The ocean is big enough to take your grief and keep it safe for you, freeing up space in your heart for other things.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“Can we really imagine how it must feel to be so afraid of what lies behind you that you are prepared to throw yourself headlong into an unknown that is going to be filled with danger and loneliness? Leaving behind your family and your culture and seeking something better in a land where you are not welcome and you are not understood?”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“the world was very much younger, the waters of the sea were sweet and fresh. The sea itself was very proud of this and it grew too arrogant. It decided it would flood the whole world. But a tiny mosquito saw this and began to drink the sea. It drank and drank until every drop of water was gone and it was drinking sand. Then it threw up all the water again. And because the smallest creature in the world had drunk it up and humbled it, the sea became calm. From that time on, the waters of the sea have been salty since they’ve passed through the stomach of a mosquito.”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca

“She sees that your heart is filled with grief. You need to go to the ocean. Write the names of the things you’ve lost on stones you will find there and then cast them away into the waters. The ocean is big enough to take your grief and keep it safe for you, freeing up space in your heart for other things. The dreamseller says this is an important lesson for you to learn now and you must remember it. It will help you later in life.’ While we were having a cup of mint tea and some”
― Fiona Valpy, The Storyteller of Casablanca