Kelli Estes > Quotes

“His words made Mei Lien stumble. How could this be happening? How could these men barge in here and force them to sail “home” to a country where Mei Lien had never been? A country her father had bid farewell to with no intention of returning?”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“When his black eyes landed on her, she saw hatred so pure it made her legs tremble. She drew herself tall as Grandmother's weight allowed, hoping that it would hide the terror that sizzled through her.”
― Kelli Estes

“We’re”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“The longer she was here, the more she felt like a snake shedding its skin, like something tight and constricting was falling off her. For nine years she'd focused on her studies and her goals for the future, and now that her future was upon her, she wanted only to sink into the comfort of the past.”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“Their only crime was being Chinese, something the white people in America considered lower than farm animals. No matter that the Chinese had built their railroads, chopped their lumber, snd canned their salmon. The Chinese had worked just as hard, if not harder, than any white man on this soil, but now they were being kicked out. Unwanted. Unclean. A nuisance.”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“May we all grow up to be strong like her”
― Kelli Estes, Today We Go Home

“Because we lack that deep connection to our neighbors today, are our souls suffering? Is that why so many people are suffering from mental illness and why we have societal atrocities like mass shootings?”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“All those bodies floating in the water next to the ship. I couldn’t get them out of my mind so I looked again at newspapers from that time. Three Chinese bodies were found washed ashore within”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“Mei Lien nodded. “Yes, Bàba. Can you carry our things? I’ll get Năinai.” Grandmother needed to be carried wherever she went because her deformed feet prevented her from putting much weight on them. Mei”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“She was so tired of it all. One class of people looking down on another.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“But it should not matter that she was Chinese and the men walking away from her were not. They were all human, and that, at the most basic level, entitled Father to receive help.”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“Is that why I see her, know her thoughts, understand her language, feel her emotions? Because we both stood on this bridge thinking about how much we're going to miss our sons?”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“The valley, its people- even the firs, bracken, heather, and stones- were as much a part of her as her bones and flesh.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“It's Rowchoish Bothy. You can find bothies all over Scotland in remote areas. They're free for anyone to use when out hunting or hiking.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“Other than Native Americans, we all came from somewhere else, and we lack that soul-deep connection to a place or a community like people have in these older countries with a long, known history.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“We want to feel like our time on Earth matters, and we accomplish that by connecting with something bigger than us that will remain after we're gone.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“Her mom used to tell her that she loved the morning best because even the wind was still asleep, which kept the water smooth as glass. There was no better place to watch the world wake up than from on the water.”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“– Търси ме в листата, в облаците, в птиците – продължи. – Още не знам под каква форма ще се върна при теб, но със сигурност ще бъда там!”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“The water soarkled between the firs, cedars, and madronas, and it pulled at her, making her want to forget her inspection and fo sit on the black rocks on the beach where the water, ripe with kelp, would lap just out of reach. There, every sense would be filled to the brim, and for once, she'd be alive.”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“Mei Lien did her best to help Father stand. One eye was swollen shut, and blood ran down his face from his nose”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“People of her class were always treated unfairly, were always bullied by superiors. The landed gentry took what they wanted, when they wanted it, without care for the innocent people who were hurt along the way.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“It's amazing how all the tiny cuts and stabs in a relationship can add up to become a traumatic wound.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“killings”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“My purpose is not ending; it's simply changing, altering, shifting, evolving. And that's a good thing. That's living.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“By slowing down and replacing the commotion of buses, cars, and crowds with birds, lakes, mountains, and wide-open skies, I connect with my own thoughts and emotions and senses, and, for once, am truly present.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“The man with the club slapped it against his palm and spit onto the floor, leaving an ugly brown mark where only yesterday Mei Lien had scrubbed it clean. “All you Orientals are leaving on the one o’clock”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“The hardest part of being a parent is letting go.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“In the moon road on the water, Mei Lien saw her father laughing with her as he taught her mah-jongg at the rickety table in front of his store. She watched Grandmother's wrinkled hands patiently guiding her own through short, precise stitches on silk, the smell of ginger and onions scenting the air. The memories rolled together, coming faster and faster, then pausing on one image only to flash forward again, pulling her in, soothing her.”
― Kelli Estes, The Girl Who Wrote in Silk

“... they were not simply renting the land their homes and farms were on; they'd paid for it with their own blood and that of their loved ones and ancestors. The roots of their souls were buried deep on the land.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind

“The stone had stripes of different colors, from red to gray to black, and sparkled throughout with shining flecks. She rubbed her fingers over it, feeling the rough texture and the love from her son that it held in its cool hardness. He was right: this was a treasure.”
― Kelli Estes, Smoke on the Wind