“Food is a gift and should be treated reverentially--romanced and ritualized and seasoned with memory.”
―
Chris Bohjalian,
Secrets of Eden
“We may talk a good game and write even better ones, but we never outgrow those small wounded things we were when we were five and six and seven.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
“But history does matter. There is a line connecting the Armenians and the Jews and the Cambodians and the Bosnians and the Rwandans. There are obviously more, but, really, how much genocide can one sentence handle?” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Sandcastle Girls
“I have lived with magic and without magic, and I can tell you with certainty that a life with magic is better....” ― Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
“When it seems you have nothing at all to live for, death is not especially frightening.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Sandcastle Girls
“But it's funny how the memory works and how sometimes we just belive whatever we want.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
“As Jeremy Bentham had asked about animals well over two hundred years ago, the question was not whether they could reason or talk, but could they suffer? And yet, somehow, it seemed to take more imagination for humans to identify with animal suffering than it did to conceive of space flight or cloning or nuclear fusion. Yes, she was a fanatic in the eyes of most of the country. . .Mostly, however, she just lacked patience for people who wouldn't accept her belief that humans inflicted needless agony on the animals around them, and they did so in numbers that were absolutely staggering.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Before You Know Kindness
“He recalls what that first German soldier said to his major: No God-not yours or mine-approves of what you're doing.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Sandcastle Girls
“And though some days it is very hard, I try not to live for the future. And I try not to dream of the past.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Law of Similars
“Everything about [chance] scares the bejesus out of so many people; it's the this thing they try to avoid at all costs. Don't travel to the Middle East these days - there's a chance something could happen. Don't get involved with that new fellow on Creamery Street - I hear a lot of mud was scraped off his floor after the divorce. Don't have your baby at home - there's a a chance something could go wrong. Don't don't don't... Well, you can't live your life like that! You can't spend your entire life avoiding chance. It's out there, it's inescapable, it's a part of the soul of the world. There are no sure things in this universe, and it's absolutely ridiculous to try and live like there are!” ― Chris Bohjalian, Midwives
“Life is filled with small moments that seem prosaic until one has the distance to look back and see the chain of large moments they unleashed.” ― Chris Bohjalian
“The world is filled with human toxins -- not the darkness that we all occasionally crave, but actually people who are so unwilling to bask in the angelic light that is offered us all that they grow poisonous -- and you can pray for their eventual recovery and healing. And sometimes those prayers will be answered. But sometimes these individuals have been vaccinated against goodness and against angels and they are so unwilling to give an inch to their God that often they never (and I use this expression absolutely literally) see the light.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
“My mother used to talk about passages and, once in a while, about ordeals. We all have them; we are all shaped by them. She thought the key was to find the healing in the hurt.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Night Strangers
“But history does matter. There are lines connecting the Armenians and the Jews and the Cambodians and the Serbs and the Rwandans. They are obviously morbid. Really, how much genocide can one sentence handle? You get the point. Besides, my grandparents’ story deserves to be told, regardless of their nationalities.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Sandcastle Girls
“With age comes acumen. With experience comes insight.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
“No one said living isn't a pretty chancy business, Sibyl. No one gets out of here alive.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Midwives
“I don’t know, maybe I just wanted to be alone. Maybe I just didn’t want to be social because antisocial people have a whole lot less to lose.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands
“Remember that person you wanted to be? There's still time.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Flight Attendant
“Boys look at us like we look at horses: color, height, eyes. tail. They can't help but have preferences.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Midwives
“We may talk a good game and write even better ones, but we never outgrow those small wounded things we were when we were five and six and seven.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
“But history does matter. There is a line connecting the Armenians and the Jews and the Cambodians and the Bosnians and the Rwandans. There are obviously more, but, really, how much genocide can one sentence handle?” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Sandcastle Girls
“I have lived with magic and without magic, and I can tell you with certainty that a life with magic is better....” ― Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
“When it seems you have nothing at all to live for, death is not especially frightening.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Sandcastle Girls
“But it's funny how the memory works and how sometimes we just belive whatever we want.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
“As Jeremy Bentham had asked about animals well over two hundred years ago, the question was not whether they could reason or talk, but could they suffer? And yet, somehow, it seemed to take more imagination for humans to identify with animal suffering than it did to conceive of space flight or cloning or nuclear fusion. Yes, she was a fanatic in the eyes of most of the country. . .Mostly, however, she just lacked patience for people who wouldn't accept her belief that humans inflicted needless agony on the animals around them, and they did so in numbers that were absolutely staggering.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Before You Know Kindness
“He recalls what that first German soldier said to his major: No God-not yours or mine-approves of what you're doing.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Sandcastle Girls
“And though some days it is very hard, I try not to live for the future. And I try not to dream of the past.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Law of Similars
“Everything about [chance] scares the bejesus out of so many people; it's the this thing they try to avoid at all costs. Don't travel to the Middle East these days - there's a chance something could happen. Don't get involved with that new fellow on Creamery Street - I hear a lot of mud was scraped off his floor after the divorce. Don't have your baby at home - there's a a chance something could go wrong. Don't don't don't... Well, you can't live your life like that! You can't spend your entire life avoiding chance. It's out there, it's inescapable, it's a part of the soul of the world. There are no sure things in this universe, and it's absolutely ridiculous to try and live like there are!” ― Chris Bohjalian, Midwives
“Life is filled with small moments that seem prosaic until one has the distance to look back and see the chain of large moments they unleashed.” ― Chris Bohjalian
“The world is filled with human toxins -- not the darkness that we all occasionally crave, but actually people who are so unwilling to bask in the angelic light that is offered us all that they grow poisonous -- and you can pray for their eventual recovery and healing. And sometimes those prayers will be answered. But sometimes these individuals have been vaccinated against goodness and against angels and they are so unwilling to give an inch to their God that often they never (and I use this expression absolutely literally) see the light.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
“My mother used to talk about passages and, once in a while, about ordeals. We all have them; we are all shaped by them. She thought the key was to find the healing in the hurt.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Night Strangers
“But history does matter. There are lines connecting the Armenians and the Jews and the Cambodians and the Serbs and the Rwandans. They are obviously morbid. Really, how much genocide can one sentence handle? You get the point. Besides, my grandparents’ story deserves to be told, regardless of their nationalities.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Sandcastle Girls
“With age comes acumen. With experience comes insight.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
“No one said living isn't a pretty chancy business, Sibyl. No one gets out of here alive.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Midwives
“I don’t know, maybe I just wanted to be alone. Maybe I just didn’t want to be social because antisocial people have a whole lot less to lose.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands
“Remember that person you wanted to be? There's still time.” ― Chris Bohjalian, The Flight Attendant
“Boys look at us like we look at horses: color, height, eyes. tail. They can't help but have preferences.” ― Chris Bohjalian, Midwives
