It’s hard for me to believe those moments ever happened; that I was ever in the middle of all that love, and time, and possibility, and that now I’m not. Life eventually takes away everyone and everything we love and leaves us bereft. Is that its sad lesson?
-- Judy (chapter 1)

Importance: This quote represents Judy's alienation from her family. She struggles to believe that she and Teddy were ever close even as she yearns to be an active part of his life again.

During those good years, everyone told me I would go from success to success, that money and opportunity would keep rolling in. But they didn’t. Life is like that. It’s a series of advancements and regressions, the same tide, coming and going, giving and taking away.
-- Judy (chapter 2)

Importance: This quote represents Judy's disappointment in herself and her lack of self-confidence. Judy's writing career was, for a long time...