Amy Sue Nathan > Quotes

“Being fussy doesn’t merit physical punishment.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“Don’t let anyone silence your voice, Ruth. Not even me.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“Though the betrayal would stick to Boop like a burr, relentless and prickly, she’d continue to pluck it off each time she noticed it.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, The Last Bathing Beauty

“I understand how you feel, believe me. Nonetheless, no one has ever strong-armed or guilted women into accepting help.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“Compassion is worthless unless accompanied by a commitment to justice,” the judge had said.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“Compassion is worthless unless accompanied by a commitment to justice,”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“for years, she looked for her parents everywhere—in crowds on the beach, at High Holiday services, on walks, in her dreams that took her under the sea and up in the sky. She looked for Tillie and Joe in everyone, especially strangers she noticed from the back who were the right height and build, or almost.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, The Last Bathing Beauty

“They each sat in a chair without talking. Words weren’t necessary to keep someone company.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, The Last Bathing Beauty

“At twenty-five after eight in the morning, Ruth walked up the path of Carrie’s brick house, called a twin in Philadelphia, though her brothers had called duplexes like these double trouble in New York. She carried a tinfoil-wrapped bundle carefully—Shirley’s swirl kamish bread, another Philly term to get used to. Back home, they called it mandel bread. Ruth had to admit she did enjoy her mother-in-law’s recipe, as the texture was softer than biscotti, perfect for dunking but wouldn’t break your teeth. And who didn’t love the taste of almonds”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“And you’re sure you want to have the baby? Keep the baby?”
― Amy Sue Nathan, The Last Bathing Beauty

“Hope and shame are a potent cocktail, leaving girls drunk with tolerance.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“You should own all pieces of your life, good or bad,” Hannah said. “They make up who you are.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, The Last Bathing Beauty

“She too might be a broken pretzel—and that was okay. Anna had shown her that perfection was overrated. The pieces were just as sweet, just as crunchy.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“When Sunny began working for her mother after Lillian was born, Sunny’s loyalty was to Anna. “Do as your mother says” and “Let your mother be” were among Sunny’s favorite sayings. Anna and Sunny had been friends since they were in high school, despite growing up on different sides of the neighborhood. They had bonded in the public library over a shared copy of the latest Nancy Drew novel set aside by the librarian for her favorite patrons. Anna and Sunny adored mysteries”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“Haven High. Maybe because Zaide always wore tailor-made suits,”
― Amy Sue Nathan, The Last Bathing Beauty

“Did”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“But she had to turn around. For Betty’s sake. For her own. For what was, and wasn’t, and what might have been.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, The Last Bathing Beauty

“After Lillian’s mother went away, the housekeeper went to work for Lillian’s grandparents. Teenage Lillian could always count on Sunny for a diversion to help pull her out of a jam. She helped Lillian hide chicken livers and lima beans in napkins, so she didn’t have to eat them. Their conspiracies evolved and, later on, Sunny helped her disguise high school parties as library outings”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“if we teach our daughters that they must find the courage to stand up for themselves, even when things are hard, and even when no one believes them. We can’t assume they’ll just know that.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“Betty skittered and kept up this time, shuffling through the grass, glad she’d worn her old saddle shoes. “I didn’t say he was an angel. I just mean, I trust him. I was much later than I said I’d be.” Betty felt the same jolt of tension in her neck as when Nannie announced Tillie and Joe’s annual visits”
― Amy Sue Nathan, The Last Bathing Beauty

“It’s just that if a man says something, people believe him. When a woman says something difficult, she’s hormonal, pregnant, or hysterical”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“My job is bigger than its tasks. It can create my daughters’ future.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, Well Behaved Wives

“But you came back at the same time, after so long, and that’s when all heck breaks loose in my life? It’s like the universe conspired against me.” Doris leaned her head back and chuckled. “You don’t think the timing is a coincidence, do you? The universe didn’t conspire against you. No sirree. The universe armed you.”
― Amy Sue Nathan, The Last Bathing Beauty