Normal, in our house, is like a blanket too short for a bed--sometimes it covers you just fine, and other times it leaves you cold and shaking; and worst of all, you never know which of the two it's going to be.
Jodi PicoultRead
I pointed to the wound. "It's missing," I said. My grandmother smiled, and that was all it took for me to stop seeing the scar, and to recognize her again. "Yes," she said. "But see how much of me is left?
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the idea of recognizing the essence of a person beyond their scars or past wounds.
In this quote, Jodi Picoult illustrates how focusing on the positive aspects of a person—despite their scars or past traumas—can help foster connection and appreciation. The dialogue between the speaker and the grandmother emphasizes the importance of understanding and acknowledging someone's enduring qualities and the wholeness of their being, rather than being fixated on their flaws or injuries.
Themes
WoundScarRecognitionGrandmotherLoveAcceptance
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about resilience and healing.
More from Jodi Picoult
All quotes →Whether it was power they sought, or revenge, or love-well, those were all just different forms of hunger. The bigger the hole inside you, the more desperate you became to fill it.
Jodi PicoultRead
she told me she'd be a phoenix." The image of the mythical creature rising from the ashes glitters in my mind. "They don't really exist." "She said that depends on whether or not there's someone who can see them.
Jodi PicoultRead
for 100,000 (dollars), you [can] flatten a house with a wrecking ball. Imagine how much less it [takes] to destroy something than it [does] to build it in the first place.
Jodi PicoultRead
But if you seek forgiveness, doesn't that automatically mean you cannot be a monster? By definition, doesn't that desperation make you human again?
Jodi PicoultRead
when you [lose someone], it feels like the hole in your gum when a tooth falls out. You can chew, you can eat, you have plenty of other teeth, but your tongue keeps going back to that empty place, where all nerves are still a little raw
Jodi PicoultRead
Similar quotes
Making steel may be compared to making a chappati. To make a good chappati, even a golden pin will not work unless the dough is good
J. R. D. TataRead
What did you put in the fire?" Kaladin said. "To make that special smoke?" "Nothing. It was just and ordinary fire." "But, I saw-" "What you saw belongs to you. A story doesn't live until it is imagined in someone's mind." "What does the story mean, then?" "It means what you want it to mean," Hoid said. "The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think , but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that.
Brandon SandersonRead
Your soul - that inner quiet space - is yours to consult. It will always guide you in the right direction.
Wayne DyerRead
Never lie under any circumstances.
Warren BuffettRead
Whatever makes you weird is probably your greatest asset.
Joss WhedonRead
One acts decisively only in the conviction that all the angels are on one side and all the devils on the other.
Saul AlinskyRead