Wendy Clarke > Quotes

“The past is the past and the present is where she needs to be”
― Wendy Clarke, His Hidden Wife

“We believe we know people when, in reality, we see just the part that people want us to see.”
― Wendy Clarke, Blind Date

“The subconscious is good at burying bad memories. Locking them up until, one day, something happens to turn the key and release them.”
― Wendy Clarke, What She Saw

“there, she pushes herself to her feet. Hoisting her school bag onto her shoulder, she walks across the stones to the boardwalk, waiting for a mother with a pushchair to pass by before crossing over it and heading for the gate in their wall. As she lets herself onto the patio, closing the gate behind her, she looks up. Through the fronds of the palm, she sees her mum as she has many times before. Standing in her studio, her brush to the painting in front of her. Kitty in a bouncy chair beside her. Megan studies her, wondering what it is that causes her mother to press the front of her forearm to her forehead. What she’s painted on that flat white surface. More sea, she presumes. More boring sky. It’s hard to see clearly, as the sunlight’s shining on the glass, but, as Megan watches, her mum stands back from the canvas, covering her face with the palms of both hands. As though unable to stand the sight of what’s in front of her. Megan turns away, not wanting to see. Apart from that time after Kitty was born, she’d always thought of her mum as strong. Now the vulnerability she’s shown recently scares her… leaves her wondering where that leaves her. What’s clear is she can never tell her mum what she’s done. Not unless she wants to make things worse. Alex will have to remain her secret. Her mum drops her hands, and Megan steps back into the shadows of the oleander, not wanting to be seen. As she waits for her mum to move away from the sliding doors, she sees that the fat buds in the leaves that hide her from view have produced their first flower. It’s something her mum would celebrate, seeing as how, every year in November, she and Sean have to drag it, in its giant pot, into the sunroom so the winter frosts don’t get it. She wonders whether she’s seen it, but, from the look of her mum now, it’s clearly the last thing on her mind.”
― Wendy Clarke, The Night Out

“You need to remember that, although it can be frightening, anxiety is not a weakness. It takes strength to fight it every day.”
― Wendy Clarke, What She Saw

“You're only one decision away from a totally different life”
― Wendy Clarke, His Hidden Wife

“She doesn't want the dark mist to descend on him as it does sometimes when he's under pressure. Causing him to close the curtains and take to his bed, all offers of food or conversation refused. She doesn't want to upset him, to force him to relive memories he would rather forget”
― Wendy Clarke, His Hidden Wife

“Anger's not always a bad thing, you know. It's a tool that helps us to read and respond to upsetting situations. The trick is to express it properly. That's much healthier than bottling it up”
― Wendy Clarke, His Hidden Wife

“I’m going to surprise you. Surprises are the best thing, don’t you think?’ I look at him, then away again, unsure how to answer. In my experience, surprises are a herald of worse things to come.”
― Wendy Clarke, We Were Sisters

“The past is sometimes hidden just under the surface of the present. With help, if you peel that layer away, it can come back to life”
― Wendy Clarke, His Hidden Wife

“Maya’s face as though wondering what to tell her. ‘It’s just I know they weren’t always happy, and I did once wonder if they’d have stayed together… There was something my husband, George, said when you were first in my maths class. As you know, he taught the other year one class at your primary school and mentioned how once he’d had to break up an argument between your parents when they were waiting to pick you up from school. It must have been pretty heated for him to remember it after all that time – he wasn’t one to gossip. Apparently, Mrs Lyons wouldn’t let you out of your classroom until George had managed to calm them down.’ Maya feels her stomach clench. ‘All couples argue.’ ‘I know.’ Mrs Ellis pats her hand. ‘And that’s why you mustn’t worry about it. It was a long time ago, anyway.’ The bus is stopping. Bending to her bag, Mrs Ellis moves it so that it’s not in the way of the people getting on. ‘But if you ever feel you want to spread your wings, you mustn’t feel your dad would be on his own. He’s a grown man, and you can’t make him your responsibility. I’m sure he has friends, neighbours, even work colleagues who would keep an eye on him. Doesn’t he have his own private practice in Lyme Regis?’ ‘Yes, but it’s not the same. He needs me.’ Maya’s voice slips away, so it’s barely a whisper. ‘Yes, he needs me. It’s why I couldn’t go to university.’ She doesn’t want to talk about that time for, although her dad had been encouraging when she’d first told him she was applying, a week after the forms were filled in, a cloud had settled over him. One that was darker than previous ones. Maya had tempted him with his favourite food, enticed him out for healing walks along the clifftop, but nothing she’d done could lift it. Eventually, telling herself it was because of what she’d done, she’d deleted her application from the computer. When her dad had found out and asked why she’d done it, she’d told him it was because she couldn’t face more studying. Would rather earn a living. Whether he’d believed her or not, she couldn’t say. What she did know was that he’d never tried to change her mind. ‘Do you like your job, Maya?’ Maya lowers her eyes and studies her hands. It’s something she hasn’t given much thought to. Her job is just something she does to get through”
― Wendy Clarke, His Hidden Wife

“do”
― Wendy Clarke, We Were Sisters