Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Sharyn McCrumb

Quote by Sharyn McCrumb

Work

The Ballad of Frankie Silver

Browse quotes and source details for this work. more

Author

Sharyn McCrumb
Sharyn McCrumb

Sharyn McCrumb is an American author renowned for her mystery novels, particularly those set in the Appalachian region of the United States. Born on February 26, 1948, she has written over 30 novels, blending historical fiction and mystery with a focus on Appalachian culture and history. McCrumb's work has been recognized with numerous awards and is celebrated for its complex characters and historical depth. more

You May Also Like

“But in that moment, they already saw him as a lucid vision from the nostalgic past like when a deceased loved one visits you in a dream and you wrap them up in your arms and refuse to let go until you wake up tightly clutching your pillow and crying into it, and still you refuse to let go.”

“But his body, so cold, so unrelentingly unmoving was beginning to belong back to Earth, a block of perfect marble into which, even now, I tried to press my own life, exhaling, exhaling, exhaling. It's fruitless, you know it's fruitless, but you do it anyway, entreating your dead son to return to this perfectly usable thing, this beautiful, still body, so umblemished, so strong, so midstride.”

“She knew loss too well, knew that your dear ones never left, that they stayed with you, spoke to you, attempted to console you, but that these ghosts had no arms to hold you, that no one else could hear their jokes. That their love was not enough. And that as more and more of these familiars passed away, the world around you became less and less interesting, less and less real.”

“Put another way: I don't know what's going to happen on Election Day, other than the fact that the election won't be the only thing I'm thinking about- as November 5, 2024, also marks the ten-year anniversary of the death of my mother: a milestone so striking, it seems impossible to me even as I write it. And guess what? I won't be the only person in this country with something else on my mind that day, either.”

“You just can't let life happen to you, you have to make life happen.”

“Rosa Mystica Requiescat Tread lightly, she is near Under the snow, Speak gently, she can hear The daisies grow. All her bright golden hair Tarnished with rust, She that was young and fair Fallen to dust. Lily-like, white as snow, She hardly knew She was a woman, so Sweetly she grew. Coffin-board, heavy stone, Lie on her breast, I vex my heart alone, She is at rest. Peace, Peace, she cannot hear Lyre or sonnet, All my life's buried here, Heap earth upon it.”