“I grieved for what was yet to come. But I grieved more for what I had lost: myself. I may not have grown in inches as my grandmother had almost a century ago, but I had certainly allowed marriage to change me in fundamental ways.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Free from the constraints and contortions that married life had demanded of me, I was now uncoiling, shrugging off the restraints forced by society and my own limited beliefs.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Dates marked on a calendar are like babies: innocent and untainted. When we assign significance to one particular date—a wedding day for instance—we expand its notional value, even if it is precious only to us. The value of a day (or a baby) increases in proportion to our attachment to it.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Wedding vows, in any culture or language, speak of being together in sickness and in health. There is an assumption that you will receive love and thrive in the constant presence and support of the person with whom you are joined together in matrimony, no matter the weather or circumstance. By committing to spending your life together, you are promising one thing: to be around.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“The story of my marriage and motherhood is not unusual: a life defined by a name, a name conferred by someone other than me. Most women I knew had taken on their husband’s name either at the time of the wedding or after the birth of their children. A few had retained their maiden name, with a handful agonizing over the decision.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“Diamonds are forever, more reliable than husbands.”
Source: Rewriting My Happily Ever After: A Memoir of Divorce and Discovery
“I never intended to marry - because I've never met a man I could trust. She raised her head slowly. I trust you, Matthias.”
Source: The Lady's Mine
“My dear," I said, "if you would only exercise a little care--"
"I do sometimes," said Griselda, "But on the whole, I think things go worse when I'm trying.”
Source: Murder at the Vicarage
“You have to listen to each other all the time. But not all the time. If you listen to each other all the time, there’s a risk that you can’t forgive each other afterward.”
Source: Anxious People
“A man who will not love his wife despite her submission is a cowardly beast undeserving of any cage, for cages are for the strong; but that kind of man-child is meant for the marshes or hay field.”