“Surely there is a light in that boy that will never go out, no matter what he has to face along the way. That's all a father can hope for his child, that a little fire will burn in them to keep them going, to keep them strong.” StrengthParentingHopes Book:Southernmost Source: Southernmost
“I wondered if we were put on this earth only to destroy every beautiful thing, to make chaos. Or were we meant to overcome this? Did bad things happen so that goodness could show through in people?” SocietyGoodnessGood And EvilConflicts Book:A Parchment of Leaves Source: A Parchment of Leaves
“She had woken up with the song swirling around in her mind and couldn't make it sizzle down her arm and out onto the stiff strings of her fiddle.” MusicSongwriting Book:Clay's Quilt Source: Clay's Quilt
“Maybe all the secrets of life were written on the surface of leaves, waiting to be translated. If I touched them long enough, I might be given some information no one else had.” IfsLongEnoughMightGivenWaitingSecretWrittenInformationSurfaceTouchedSecret Life Author:Silas House
“I had always found comfort in the leaves, in their silence. They were like a parchment that holds words of wisdom. Simply holding them in my hand gave me some of the peace a tree possesses. To be like that-to just be-that's the most noble thing of all.” HandsFoundSilenceTreeWords Of WisdomComfortNoble Book:A Parchment of Leaves: A Novel Source: A Parchment of Leaves: A Novel
“Sometimes just being still is the best thing you can do for yourself.” StillsSometimesCan DoLibertarianBest ThingsJust BeingGraduationRight To Bear ArmsBearing Arms2 AmendmentCreative OutletsGun SafetyHigh School Graduation SpeechHigh School Commencement Book:Eli the Good Source: Eli the Good
“I've never understood why people run to get out of the rain in the summertime... People will drive miles and miles to go jump in a cool swimming hole, but when it rains, they scatter.” PeopleRunningUnderstoodRainMilesHolesSwimmingSummertimeMiles To Go Author:Silas House
“I always tell my writing students that every good piece of writing begins with both a mystery and a love story. And that every single sentence must be a poem. And that economy is the key to all good writing. And that every character has to have a secret.” WritingCharacterStoriesSecretEconomyPiecesMysteryStudentsKeysSentencesLove StoryGood WritingSingle Sentence Author:Silas House
“Now I had seen the grief of the two strongest people I knew. And somehow, Daddy's and Edie's crying made them seem even stronger to me. It was better to cry than to suck it up and go around conjuring hate in your heart” PeopleHeartMadeTwoSeemsHateGriefCryStrongerStrongestDaddyConjuring Author:Silas House
“Since that night I have come to understand that sometimes the best families of all are those we create ourselves, the people we choose to be with.” PeopleSometimesNightBest Family Author:Silas House
“Whole scenes of your life slip away forever if you don't put them down in ink.” IfsWholeForeverSceneSlipsInk Author:Silas House
“In New York, the buildings are like mountains in some ways, but they are only alive because of the people living in them. Real mountains are alive all over.” PeopleWayRealAliveNew YorkBuildingMountain Book:Same Sun Here Source: Same Sun Here
“Strange, how such a small realization can affect everyone's life forever. In movies there is always a carefully staged moment - a big crescendo of music, close- ups of the actors' faces, the camera slowly pulling away to let all this sink in for the viewer...but, in real life, most all of the extraordinary things happen with no more loudness than a whisper.” RealMomentsBigsHappensFacesActorsForeverStrangeCamerasExtraordinaryThings HappenReal LifeRealizationPullingViewersExtraordinary ThingsCrescendoPulling Away Author:Silas House
“Because they [Americans] want to be thought of as a rich nation, they are very ashamed of this place [Appalachia] that has come to represent poverty, even though poverty exists all over the country, and exists as much in urban areas as it does in rural, if not more.” IfsWantDoeCountryNationsPovertyRichAreasAshamedUrbanAppalachiaUrban Areas Author:Silas House
“But you cannot know a place without loving it and hating it and feeling everything in between. You cannot understand a complex people by only looking at data—something inside you has to crack to let in the light so your eyes and brain and heart can adjust properly.” PeopleKnowsHeartFeelingsLightEyeHateBrainComplexesDataCracksHeart And Brain Author:Silas House