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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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
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