Quotes of Colleen Oakley

Colleen OakleyColleen Oakley

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“I suppose all couples feel this way at some point—that their bond is the most special, the strongest, the Greatest Love of All. Not all the time, just in those few and far between moments where you look at the person you’re with and think: Yes. It’s you.” ― Colleen Oakley, Before I Go
“Science can’t explain why two specific people are magnetically drawn to each other instead of repelled. Only love can.” ― Colleen Oakley, Before I Go
“Every human being—every single one of us—wakes up each morning hoping, believing, that today is not our day. Not our time. That the storm is not yet here. That our island will not be wiped out. That we will see the sunrise the next morning. That life is worth living. Otherwise, we wouldn’t bother getting out of bed.” ― Colleen Oakley, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island
“Relationships don't dissolve over one event, one fight, it's a thousand blows, delivered over time, uppercuts, jabs, crosses, some you barely even feel, and then before you know it, you're on the ground seeing stars and wondering what the hell happened!” ― Colleen Oakley, Close Enough to Touch
“And then I keep reading, anyway—but not just because I like the story. I like knowing that I'm touching her with my words. That they're crawling in her ears as she sleeps.” ― Colleen Oakley, Close Enough to Touch
“Why is it called a grandfather clock and not a grandmother clock?” her eldest granddaughter, Poppy, asked once. “Because only a man would find the need to announce it every time he performed his job as required,” Louise replied.” ― Colleen Oakley, The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise
“why do people always say they could get hit by a bus? Like life is just one big game of Frogger and people are getting struck left and right by dangerous city transport.” ― Colleen Oakley, Before I Go
“I was going to be getting the food.” ― Colleen Oakley, Before I Go
“So I can’t explain why, for the next twenty minutes, I stand at the window quietly willing him with my mind to come inside and erase the distance between us.” ― Colleen Oakley, Before I Go
“What is it about darkness that compels one to reveal so much?” ― Colleen Oakley, Close Enough to Touch
“He tells me the AWARE technique is an acronym for Accept the anxiety, Watch the anxiety, Act normal, Repeat, and Expect the best.” ― Colleen Oakley, Before I Go
“As a twenty-one-year-old college student, Daisy Richmond’s answer to the question “If you knew you were going to die in one month, what would you do?” was full of adventure and travel to exotic lands. As a twenty-seven-year-old woman who is faced with a recurrence of breast cancer, her answer is very different. Before I Go is the poignant story of Daisy’s journey to navigate the unexpected twists and turns of life, and the painful process of letting go of everything but love.” ― Colleen Oakley, Before I Go
“pushes the gearshift into park. “Speak of the” ― Colleen Oakley, Before I Go
“I want my husband to not be possibly falling in love with another woman.” ― Colleen Oakley, Before I Go
“Nothing in life goes according to plan. Nothing. And the sooner you accept that, the better off you’ll be.” ― Colleen Oakley, The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise
“Sometimes it just feels like we still spend so much time trying to teach the house not to catch on fire, instead of teaching the arsonist not to light it.” ― Colleen Oakley, The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise
“May we all be loved and love each other so insanely.May we all be so human.” ― Colleen Oakley, The Invisible Husband of Frick Island
“Recipe for a Perfect Wife, the Novel INGREDIENTS 3 cups editors extraordinaire: Maya Ziv, Lara Hinchberger, Helen Smith 2 cups agent-I-couldn’t-do-this-without: Carolyn Forde (and the Transatlantic Literary Agency) 1½ cup highly skilled publishing teams: Dutton US, Penguin Random House Canada (Viking) 1 cup PR and marketing wizards: Kathleen Carter (Kathleen Carter Communications), Ruta Liormonas, Elina Vaysbeyn, Maria Whelan, Claire Zaya 1 cup women of writing coven: Marissa Stapley, Jennifer Robson, Kate Hilton, Chantel Guertin, Kerry Clare, Liz Renzetti ½ cup author-friends-who-keep-me-sane: Mary Kubica, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Amy E. Reichert, Colleen Oakley, Rachel Goodman, Hannah Mary McKinnon, Rosey Lim ½ cup friends-with-talents-I-do-not-have: Dr. Kendra Newell, Claire Tansey ¼ cup original creators of the Karma Brown Fan Club: my family and friends, including my late grandmother Miriam Christie, who inspired Miriam Claussen; my mom, who is a spectacular cook and mother; and my dad, for being the wonderful feminist he is 1 tablespoon of the inner circle: Adam and Addison, the loves of my life ½ tablespoon book bloggers, bookstagrammers, authors, and readers: including Andrea Katz, Jenny O’Regan, Pamela Klinger-Horn, Melissa Amster, Susan Peterson, Kristy Barrett, Lisa Steinke, Liz Fenton 1 teaspoon vintage cookbooks: particularly the Purity Cookbook, for the spark of inspiration 1 teaspoon loyal Labradoodle: Fred Licorice Brown, furry writing companion Dash of Google: so I could visit the 1950s without a time machine METHOD: Combine all ingredients into a Scrivener file, making sure to hit Save after each addition.” ― Karma Brown, Recipe for a Perfect Wife
“again—I’ve realized that’s what grieving is, a constant cycle of feeling better and feeling worse, and I’m hopeful that one day I’ll feel better more often than I feel worse—so” ― Colleen Oakley, Before I Go
Colleen Oakley
About the poet

Colleen Oakley

Colleen Oakley is the USA Today bestselling author of The Invisible Husband of Frick Island, You Were There Too and other unconventional love stories. Her books have been named best books by People Magazine, Us Weekly, Library Journal, and Real Simple, and lo…

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