Lori

“When an old person dies,” Kent said, “even if that person is wonderful, he or she is still somewhat ready, and so are the people who loved them. They’re like old trees, whose roots have loosened in the ground. They fall gently. But when someone like your aunt Sylvie dies—before her time—her roots get pulled out and the ground is ripped up. Everyone nearby is in danger of being knocked”
― Ann Napolitano, Hello Beautiful

“She wondered if dying was simply going to be an exercise in letting go of one thing after another.”
― Ann Napolitano, Hello Beautiful

“library without members is a cemetery of books,” Miss Reeder said. “Books are like people; without contact, they cease to exist.”
― Janet Skeslien Charles, The Paris Library

“Sylvie had always thought that when, if, she wrote, it would have to be perfect. A beautifully crafted novel, ready to hand to the world. But William had shown her she could write for, and to, herself. And Whitman had rewritten, expanded, cut, and reimagined his poems across his life. He’d created not one beautiful book but different attempts at excellence and beauty as he aged and loved and reconsidered everything.”
― Ann Napolitano, Hello Beautiful