Ashley Manley > Quotes

“In a different life…in a different life.”
― Ashley Manley, When Wildflowers Bloom

“life, a constant changing of seasons, knows just how to give what needs to come next.”
― Ashley Manley, When Wildflowers Bloom

“Clear your head. Take a day for yourself. Buy some clothes that aren’t also from a grocery store.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“How you exchange who you are for a different version of yourself without even knowing. Somewhere between dinners and homework and car lines, you forget yourself. And, somehow, despite how hard and thankless it all feels, when you lie in bed at night, you still worry. You still wonder, did I do good enough today? Did I love these little people enough? Encourage them to be nice people and treat others fairly? Do they know how valuable they are? How much I love them?”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“cracking as I stand—once again the only one in the gym doing so. “You have spent your life teaching me how to be selfless. How to give and give and give. You give compliments and smiles. You give time.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“I waited. Waited to see what he was going to do—who he was going to be—before I decided what I wanted.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“Life is filled with tragedy, Scotty. People leave, people die. We feel hurt deeper than we imagine possible. Deeper than we think our bodies can bear. It’s on us to decide how we respond, for better or worse.”
― Ashley Manley, Now to Forever

“Camp goes on his morning run before I’m up, showers while I make breakfast, and leaves while I get the boys ready for school. He makes no attempt to change anything. And, though my decision has been made, I expected . . . something. A fight? Some sort of remorse? Whatever I’m looking for, there’s none. He could be happy as much as devastated and I’d never know the difference.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“Lyra storms to her bedroom as the boys ask for a snack at the same time they throw the ball to Thor. I barely even notice when it knocks a glass of water off the table and shards of glass scatter across the floor. It’s the same kind of absence as I’ve had for the last years—me dealing with chaos alone—only this time, I feel it tenfold.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“Why are you here? In Ledger?” I ask, looking around the room, at the landscape photos I now very much recognize as hers, dumbfounded. “You-you-you’ve seen the world.” “Ah,” she says with a wry smile, as if I’ve revealed something to her with my observation. “Ledger is part of the world, too, June Cannon.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“he felt her with him when wildflowers bloom. Every time I look at Birdie, I know exactly how he feels.”
― Ashley Manley, When Wildflowers Bloom

“Tell me something you like.” “You loving me,”
― Ashley Manley, When Wildflowers Bloom

“It’s not until the sound of her voice and car doors opening and closing fade that I turn back to my camera and the lake.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“About the slow drain that happens if you aren’t careful. How you exchange who you are for a different version of yourself without even knowing. Somewhere between dinners and homework and car lines, you forget yourself. And, somehow, despite how hard and thankless it all feels, when you lie in bed at night, you still worry. You still wonder, did I do good enough today? Did I love these little people enough? Encourage them to be nice people and treat others fairly? Do they know how valuable they are? How much I love them?”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“I was drawn to snapshots of everyday details. I loved them.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“I love you enough to cry when you don’t come home.” He stills, not even breathing. “And I love you enough to-to-to feel like I’m going crazy when I’m not with you. And, when I imagine life without you it feels . . . terrifying. Like I have no idea how to do that. I love you enough that not telling you every thought I’m having makes me sick. Enough that I agonize daily over if I should call this whole thing off and take whatever crumbs of time you’re willing to give me.” I blow out a breath, my body vibrating with emotions—including anger. Because, damn him for doing this to me. For making me feel all this.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“They are brands I usually buy, that he’s watched me buy in our hours in the grocery store. Even more, the coloring, with natural dye, is for Huck. He bought food he never would have and colored it a ridiculous color so we would be comfortable in his house.”
― Ashley Manley, When Wildflowers Bloom

“others can shine like stars is because people like you create a sky for us to shine in.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“Even though we’re passing ships all day, we’re still in bed—together—at night.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“I’ve blinked, spent the years wishing for days to be easier, faster . . . and now here it is. Months shy of eighteen. Months shy of leaving me. The baby I never expected—never dreamed of ever having—as necessary to my survival as oxygen.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“Fine is the word used to make everyone else more comfortable. It means falling apart but hiding it.”
― Ashley Manley, Now to Forever

“I’ve learned some love stories are just like that. They end without happily ever after”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“People tell you about potty training and sleepless nights, but they don’t tell you how fucking hard being a mom is.” Her eyebrows shoot to the sky at my language, but I don’t apologize or stop. “About the slow drain that happens if you aren’t careful. How you exchange who you are for a different version of yourself without even knowing. Somewhere between dinners and homework and car lines, you forget yourself. And, somehow, despite how hard and thankless it all feels, when you lie in bed at night, you still worry. You still wonder, did I do good enough today? Did I love these little people enough? Encourage them to be nice people and treat others fairly? Do they know how valuable they are? How much I love them?”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“Women around the bleachers dab their eyes, but I cry hardest of all. Because there, in front of everyone, my daughter sees me. All of me. All my parts and pieces. A life spent seemingly doing nothing is suddenly validated.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“Love him, Birdie. Let him love you. Love always, Veda”
― Ashley Manley, When Wildflowers Bloom

“Well, children make things without fear—that’s a compliment.”
― Ashley Manley, When Wildflowers Bloom

“It was a hard night, but not as bad as it felt. Not anymore with the rose-colored glasses of hindsight putting it into perspective.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“Wildflowers don’t hide when they bloom, Birdie.”
― Ashley Manley, When Wildflowers Bloom

“Thank you, for showing me that not all heroes wear capes. That the real superstars don’t always win awards and get name recognition. Some are just there, loving everyone around them and taking care of the little details that nobody else wants to. The sole reason that others can shine like stars is because people like you create a sky for us to shine in.”
― Ashley Manley, Forever and Back

“It had been a bad day, but the flowers still bloomed. Beauty when life felt anything but.”
― Ashley Manley, When Wildflowers Bloom