Susie Finkbeiner > Quotes

“That was when I learned that kindness could break a heart just as sure as meanness. The difference was the kindness made that broken heart softer. Meanness just made the heart want to be hard.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, A Cup of Dust

“I had plenty of friends if the characters from books counted.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, The All-American

“The world was full of awful people who did terrible and ugly things. Most of them were only awful because of the scars on their hearts.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, A Cup of Dust: A Novel of the Dust Bowl

“The way I figured it, Jesus had the poor close to His heart because they were the ones who had nothing else to hold onto.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, A Cup of Dust: A Novel of the Dust Bowl

“I can't change the pain, but I can fight to remember the good in everything.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, The All-American

“Don't let the scary things of the world keep you from seeing the good.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, Stories That Bind Us

“...they were all special. Every single one that went over there. All the ones who wouldn't come home. They were all special to someboyd.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, All manner of things

“I decided that I was glad that I could live in a world where there were librarians.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, The All-American

“But underneath that crusty attitude and gruff grimace was a tender-hearted man who had made it his business to take Mike and me under his wing. And he'd taught us more about what a godly man was than any sermon could have.

He hadn't wasted his life. He'd spent a good amount of it on us.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, All manner of things

“One of the best things about having an author for a father was that he came up with really great stories.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, The All-American

“Maybe it was more important to be a good daughter than a good American.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, The All-American

“God was the God of contentment. That was so. But just then, with Mama smiling so wide, I thought He might just be the God of wild, out-of-control happiness, too. It did me some good to think on that.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, A Trail of Crumbs: A Novel of the Great Depression

“When he'd lowered his face to kiss my forehead, I saw that his eyes held all the sadness in the world.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, All Manner of Things

“That was when I learned that kindness could break a heart just as sure as meanness. The difference was the kindness made that broken heart softer. Meanness just made the heart want to be hard. Running”
― Susie Finkbeiner, A Cup of Dust: A Novel of the Dust Bowl

“Some people ain't worth our sadness”
― Susie Finkbeiner, A Cup of Dust

“Real mothers were the ones who cleaned up the sick and pushed away the tears and hugged a child tight around the neck. Blood or no, that was what they did.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, A Cup of Dust: A Novel of the Dust Bowl

“When he'd lower his face to kiss my forehead, I saw that his eyes held all the sadness in the world.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, All Manner of Things

“Dust and dark married, creating a pillow to smother hard on our faces.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, A Cup of Dust

“Behind the clouds the sun is shining. If only we have eyes to see it.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, All Manner of Things

“There, under the webbing, in the space where the thumb met hand, was a tiny daisy burned into the leather.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, The All-American

“In all the things in the world that Mom had in plenteous supply, it was opinions.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, All manner of things

“here said he’s been at Fort Sam for three months and hasn’t gotten his orders yet. He’s working in the hospital they’ve got on base. He said if I’m lucky, maybe they won’t send me to Vietnam after all. Wouldn’t that be something? Would you all do me a big favor when you think of it? Go see Grandma a little more. Would you? She sent me a letter and I could tell she’s lonely. I know she’s not always the nicest, especially to you, Annie. But just pop your head in for a minute here or there. You’re all she’s got right now. We all know that Aunt Rose”
― Susie Finkbeiner, All Manner of Things

“Any other dad might have ignored his daughter. But my dad wasn't like any other.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, The All-American

“None of us could dance to save our lives. And most of us couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. But it was summer and we were young and for just a minute or two we could forget about all the madness in the world.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, All Manner of Things

“No one's opinion mattered quite so much to me as my dad's.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, The All-American

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered. “Green as grass.” I remembered grass. It could get as green as that dress.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, A Cup of Dust: A Novel of the Dust Bowl

“I glanced out the window toward the pool barn, thinking about what a sad, sad man William Shakespeare must have been, to write plays with so many people dying in them.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, The All-American

“no one escapes difficulty. Nobody. But when it comes, we have a few choices to make. We can become angry, bitter, hard-hearted. Or we can look our troubles right in the face and decide that we won’t let them steal our hope.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, The All-American

“Just remember, there’s a light in the darkness. The darkness cannot understand it. But that light isn’t for the darkness. It’s for you. It’s so you can find your way home.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, All Manner of Things

“War comes out of the dark part of the human soul, son. It's shocking what men have created in order to destroy each other.”
― Susie Finkbeiner, All manner of things