All these lives," she said. "All the stories we never know." (125)

- Elizabeth Strout

In case you haven't noticed, people get hard-hearted against the people they hurt. Because they can't stand it. Literally. To think we did that to so…

- Elizabeth Strout

The evenings grew longer; kitchen windows stayed open after dinner and peepers could be heard in the marsh. Isabelle, stepping out to sweep her porch…

- Elizabeth Strout

Traits don't change, states of mind do.

- Elizabeth Strout

You couldn't make yourself stop feeling a certain way, no matter what the other person did. You had to just wait. Eventually the feeling went away be…

- Elizabeth Strout

But what could you do? Only keep going. People kept going; they had been doing it for thousands of years. You took the kindness offered, letting it s…

- Elizabeth Strout

I would also hope that readers receive a larger understanding, or a different understanding, of what it means to be human, than they might have had b…

- Elizabeth Strout

You have family", Bob said. "You have a wife who hates you. Kids who are furious with you. A brother and sister who make you insane. And a nephew who…

- Elizabeth Strout

I actually see myself in all my characters. In order to imagine what it feels like to be another person I have to use my own experiences and response…

- Elizabeth Strout