Man...cannot learn to forget, but hangs on the past: however far or fast he runs, that chain runs with him.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche (Going Home)

Importance: This quote opens the narrative and foreshadows the events to come as Nic tries to create a new life, but the chains of the past are still present in her life.

Here’s the thing I’ve learned about leaving—you can’t really go back
-- Nic in Narration (Day 1)

Importance: Nick says this when she returns to Cooley Ridge. While Nic has physically gone back home, she can never go back to the way things were before because now so much has happened, including having two murders in the family.

I loved the anonymity of it all. Of a sidewalk full of strangers and endless possibilities."
-- Nic in Narration (Day 1)

Importance: Nic says this to explain what it is that she likes about living in the city as she drives. She likes it because no one knows her...