Lara Maynard

“You would needle and whine until finally we gave in. Your father and I would try to get you to come to the community hall and look at the quilts and pet the angora rabbits, but you wanted to eat chili corndogs and cotton candy and then get on one of those god-awful rides that had been put together by three heroin addicts with a sprocket wrench, the rides that made you feel like your head was going to be flung off your neck by centrifugal force.”
― Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

“I understand that joy is inappropriate these days and still, we feel what we feel.”
― Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

“Funnily enough, this turned out to be the thing that saved me: the knowledge that I could get back by myself.”
― Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

“My mind did that quick mental calculation women must make when they find their exit blocked by a man they don’t know.”
― Ann Patchett, Tom Lake