Books Archive

“‘I’ve been thinking about college,’ I said, perching on a chair, toweling my wet hair, ‘and I think the first year I learned about independence, the second year I learned about religion, the third year I learned about Los Angeles, and this year I’m learning about sex.’” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“The first divorce is okay, it can happen to anyone-too young, too romantic, unrealistic-but the second divorce is different. The second divorce is stigma.” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“‘I think the first year I learned to be away from home, the second year I learned about friendship and love, the third year I learned about death, and this year I’m learning about justice.’” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“It’s hard to give up a memory. No matter what comes after, it’s impossible to forget a small moment of happiness, to admit that it was a fluke, an isolated moment in time with no chance-because our lives are not circular-of reeling around again.” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“Oh, I loved him. And there’s no question he loved me. He wanted to be alive, remember? More than anything, alive. Without qualification. And with me, at the beginning at least, he felt alive.” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“Well that’s life, I thought. It ends. And that’s friendship: every friendship has its wobbly moments. Live with it, I told myself. Get used to it. I remembered Sally years before in the car driving west, swirling her hand in that chaotic gesture, saying from now on the deaths would be easier. And I had [...]

“Oh, the sound of the dirt hitting wood. I can still hear it years later. I think it’s the saddest sound I’ve ever heard.” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“We looked at each other and laughed. In that instant, I had no fear that I would lose her. We had-we would always have-our past. We’d grown up together, in a way.” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“‘But with your children, you discover talents you didn’t know you had. You can make such a difference: point their way in the world, give them memories that’ll inform their lives years later.’” – Best Friends by Martha Moody

“There’s this loony idea-American, Christian-that what you do doesn’t ultimately matter, that anything can be forgiven and redeemed. I don’t buy it. Nothing disappears, nothing is cancelled out. A stain in the wood, meat on the hands, a virus in the cells. There’s things don’t go away. In the end, imperfectly but largely, you reap [...]