The In-Between Quotes

“When the time comes, we all want the same things: care, comfort, and connection.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“What we once deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I reminded myself to live for today, not the fears of tomorrow—a promise I had made to myself when I started working in hospice.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“This was not where I was expecting this conversation to go, but I was intrigued. “I keep thinking about all the times when I was invited to the beach with my friends and didn’t go because of the way my stomach looked. All the birthday dinners I skipped because I made all my own meals so I could obsessively count calories. I even skipped out on having friends over on my birthday because I didn’t want to have to eat cake.” I realized I wasn’t breathing. “That definitely resonates with me,” I told her, while looking at the floor, ashamed that it must have been obvious. Elizabeth looked me dead in the eyes and said, “I felt like I had to tell you this because I see myself in you. I never anticipated dying at forty. I always thought I would have more time. I wish I would have spent more time with my loved ones. I wish I’d just eaten the damn cake.” “That’s good advice,” I said softly.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I reminded myself to live for today, not the fears of tomorrow”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“To my husband. I had been told my entire life that my dreams were too big. Then I met you, and you told me to dream bigger.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I have cared for enough end-of-life patients with varying religious backgrounds to believe that how you live your life is more important than what you believe in.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“It's amazing how even those people who are in our life for just a short time can make a lasting impact.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“While I still don't have all the answers, the one thing I can tell you for certain is that there are things that defy medical explanation, and that in between here and whatever comes next, there is something powerful and peaceful.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I always thought I would have more time. I wish I would have spent more time with my loved ones. I wish I’d just eaten the damn cake.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I am continually amazed at how life just continues on as usual, despite the tragedy that exists all around us.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“wish I would have spent more time with my loved ones. I wish I’d just eaten the damn cake.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“As time has passed, I’ve found it to be generally true in life that, in the end, things are usually okay. Sometimes it just takes a lot of hard work and uncertainty to get there.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“You’re going to have to give up your ideal life in order to live the life planned for you.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I believe in medicine and science, but my own experience tells me that, while they can explain a lot, they can't explain everything.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“Nursing school has everything to do with learning how to heal patients- or at least try to- and little to do with how to comfort them.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“God will save me if I’m meant to live.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I wish I would have spent more time with my loved ones. I wish I’d just eaten the damn cake.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I left the office that day knowing that if I ever became a nurse I would never treat someone the way she treated me.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“... I heard chirping nearby and looked up at a nearby tree, where I saw a bluebird. It happily chirped a few times and then began flapping its wings. I watched in awe as the bird flew directly alongside the hearse.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I grew up with the understanding that death was natural, and it felt normal to me, not scary or mysterious.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“Ididn’t want to need help. I wanted to be able to disconnect and feel nothing.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I think that’s good enough,” I told him, surveying our work. “He won’t even notice those parts are missing.” Chris didn’t look up from tightening the world’s tiniest screw with the world’s tiniest screwdriver. “Santa doesn’t do good enough. Santa only does perfect,” he muttered.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I felt the pull between how I had been raised and what I was experiencing. Everyone seemed to have different ideas about God and religion and what it all meant. How was I supposed to know who was right and who was wrong? Growing up, I was told to lean on God and never question his plan—just like this man in the ER was—but I understood where Theresa was coming from as well. In the short amount of time I had spent in the ER, which paled in comparison to the years she had spent working there, I had also seen some true horrors.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“I don’t know anyone who works in the emergency department that does. A higher power that allows what we see to happen isn’t someone I want to spend eternity with.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“She and her best friend were teachers for many years, and as soon as they had saved up enough money, they quit their jobs and traveled together for two years. When I asked Sue how she felt about leaving her kids behind she told me, “They got postcards and I got to see the Eiffel Tower.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“was”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“It would have been easy to say no after he had declined (as I normally would have), but cheesecake sounded delicious and Elizabeth’s words were still ringing in my ears. Tonight I was going to eat the cake.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

“Coincidences. I think one or two coincidences are just coincidences, but hundreds? I don’t think that’s a coincidence anymore.”
― Hadley Vlahos, The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments