Dorothea Benton Frank > Quotes

“I have always thought that librarians are a little bit like doctors, travel agents and professors all rolled into one. We all know that a great story can lift spirits, take you anywhere in the world you want to go and in any time period to boot, and the lessons you learn from a good book can buoy your own convictions and even change your life. ”
― Dorothea Benton Frank

“Books were my passion and my escape from madness.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, The Christmas Pearl

“Isn’t it amazing how much good people can do for each other when you give them the opportunity to help?”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Bulls Island

“The first indication of menopause is a broken thermostat. It's either that or your weight. In any case, if you don't do something, you could be dead by August.

God, middle age is an unending insult.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Sullivan's Island

“The most important thing I learned is that to be truly happy, you've got to pay attention to that stupid inner voice we all have. It knows what you need and will drive you shit crazy until you listen to it.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Isle of Palms

“As we did every New Year's Eve we made ridiculous resolutions that no one would keep, and quietly we all wondered what the coming year would hold, each of us praying for our own private miracles. Good health. Better health. A marriage for this child, a good job for another. This hopefulness was something hardwired into our psyches, that a new year might mean some monumental something wonderful could happen to bring us happiness at a level we had never known. A new year was a chance to start over. Maybe even, just maybe, there would be peace on earth for one entire day.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, The Last Original Wife

“Daddies always listen to their little girls.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Porch Lights

“a good woman's heart knows no bounds. And love is the most powerful and wondrous gift in the world. Yes, it is.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Porch Lights

“The people you love never leave you ...”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Sullivan's Island

“Makes you grow up quick. Hard work makes you strong. I work hard every day; that's where I get my strength. That and knowing who I am.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Sullivan's Island

“Maybe as you aged, what you wanted from a relationship changed too.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, The Last Original Wife

“Life is a struggle, I would tell him. Some days are better than others, and every person's life is bittersweet, filled with joy and pain.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Porch Lights

“Another maternal insight --- you always dislike about your children that which you dislike about yourself because you understand the danger about that trait. ~ Dorothea Benton Frank, The Hurricane Sisters, p. 115.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, The Hurricane Sisters

“That's what I wanted for myself for even just a little while-to be unaware of the rest of the world. I needed some time.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, The Last Original Wife

“We were an imperfect family. I knew that. But at last we were on each other's side, dug in with a new and more profound commitment. Our happiness was hard won, it was ours and I was determined to keep us whole.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, The Hurricane Sisters

“Say your prayers, girl. Prayers work miracles; don't you see that much yet?”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Sullivan's Island

“I want you to think. Gawd got his special purpose for you, just like He does for every one of us. He done give you a very good mind. The world you have when you grow up is gonna be the one you make. You use your mind and make it better.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Sullivan's Island

“the Devil danced all over the place in his beautiful eyes. You never knew what kind of surprise he had for you, just to make you laugh.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Porch Lights

“She says that on the day you stop believing in love you may as will lie down and die. I think she may be right.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Porch Lights

“Dreams made your eyes sparkle over the possibilities of doing something new and exciting. Reality made the rest of you break a sweat in panic. I was terrified.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, The Last Original Wife

“David Harper was Hollywood handsome but he had a Conan the Barbarian temper to go with his looks.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, All the Single Ladies

“because a book lets your imagination soar and a movie makes all the decisions for you. A book is almost always, but not always, a far richer experience than a book turned into a movie.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Porch Lights

“Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back to, and reasons to stay.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, All the Single Ladies

“Please. Don’t use the Lord’s name, unless you’re in prayer. It’s a hundred years in purgatory.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Sullivan's Island

“Funny how something that seemed so insignificant, just an old bowl with faded glazed stripes, could trigger so many memories.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, The Hurricane Sisters

“Words matter . . . They really do.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, All the Single Ladies

“Miss Trudie said, “Well, like my momma used to say, butter my butt and call me a biscuit. This takes the cake.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, All the Single Ladies

“I took his aftershave and cologne out of the medicine cabinet. It occurred to me that he’d been wearing these for Karen. I peed in the bathroom glass, drained the Aramis and poured urine into two of his cologne bottles. “Up yours,” I said quietly. I dropped the bottles in his bag and zipped it closed.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Sullivan's Island

“All I can tell you is that every family on the planet is dysfunctional and we celebrate occasions as generously as we know how to do. We are all doing our best to appear grateful to have one another. Weren't appearances worth something?”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, The Hurricane Sisters

“Reaching for his toothbrush, I looked at it and realized he’d been brushing his teeth for somebody else for a long time. I don’t know what possessed me to do it but I dunked it in the toilet. That pleased me so much that I rubbed it around the inside rim. That seemed so pleasant I then scrubbed up under the rim, good and hard, where no toilet brush could’ve reached in weeks.”
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Sullivan's Island