Collen Dockery > Collen's Quotes

“The bang of the modernist metal doorknocker exploded in the room. Jolting upright on the edge of the couch, Isa froze, her heart beating a discordance of dread. Her mind went blank as she stared
at the door. No.”
― Margarita Barresi, A Delicate Marriage

“Joey was quiet, but finally he said, “This is going to sound really weird . . .”
 
Alice encouraged him by saying, “I love weird.”
 
Joey went on, feeling a little better. “One day when I was in the woods by the stream, I heard a voice . . .,” and the whole story tumbled out.”
― Ellen J. Lewinberg, Joey and His Friend Water

“Being mindful of Aunt Kathy’s presence, I turned to reading the Bible while sitting in the living room. It was my way ofkeeping my aunt at bay. Yet, my facade didn’t sustain me for long. I got called to the dining table anyway. Next, I was told to follow Jerry’s instructions once we left the house. Then to my surprise, Aunt Kathy made breakfast for me anyway. Immediately, I was on high alert! “Oh hell, how do I get beyond this meal!”
There I was staring at bread blackened on one side and too soggy to fall off the plate. The bacon was two inches thick and fried hard enough to be a shoe insert. The grits had settled to a pace.
My eggs were a perfect substitute for popcorn. Even though I had no appetite, I had to gobble
something down or risk being ridiculed by my aunt.
Aunt Kathy made her own homemade peach preserves. It was extremely sweet and more concentrated than Playdough. I knew if she saw me using her sauce, she’d overlook the other items I left untouched. If lucky, thefermentation was potent enough to buzz me all day long. So, I made sure she’ll see me spreading that paste all over my charcoal toast. Of course, I made the

yummy sound “yums” as I took bite after bite. Fortunately, Aunt Kathy fell hook, line, and sinker for my facade. “I seeyou love that jelly! But I’m not going to let you eat all my jam! People will pay lots of money for that good stuff!”
“Yes Ma’am,” I said. Simply amazing! Being she had food she thought I liked, there was a limit.
 
But if I hated something then I had to be force-fed.
As Aunt Kathy talked, I fumbled and moved my food around as she gave me directives for the day. “When school is over, make sure to wait on the steps for your brother.”
“Yes Ma’am,” I said once again.”
― Harold Phifer, My Bully, My Aunt, & Her Final Gift

“Various large trees— willowy peppers and especially the pines—seem to be reaching down to hold your hand.”
― Tom Hillman, Digging for God

“Deliverance is not scary—it is the most beautiful, loving act of Jesus. It is the moment someone finally walks into the freedom that was always meant for them.”
― Kathryn Krick, Unlock Your Deliverance: Keys to Freedom From Demonic Oppression

“Death is the ultimate test of faith.”
― Gabriel F.W. Koch, Death Leaves a Shadow

“Making it to the Super Bowl is something few and far between. Many football players never get the opportunity to make it that far.”
― Vernon Davis, Playing Ball: Life Lessons from My Journey to the Super Bowl and Beyond

“I’d seen enough evil in this world, but the depths of human depravity never failed to sicken me.”
― Murray Bailey, The Prisoner of Acre

“The elements of the written word can be purely magical. I read and I write...I inspire and I’m living.”
― C. Toni Graham

“He spoke slowly. “You know, you might think you are strong by holding on to all of this, but I think letting it go might make you stronger.”
― Alyssa Hall, And Then I Heard the Quiet

“When Toni Morrison said she writes the kind of books she wants to read, she was acknowledging the fact that in a society in which “accepted literature” is so often sexist and racist and otherwise irrelevant or offensive to so many lives, she must do the work of two. She must be her own model as well as the artist attending, creating, learning from, realizing the model, which is to say, herself.”
― Alice Walker, In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Prose

“You don't know love when you see it. You've tricked something out with your imagination that you think love, and you expect the real thing to look like that.”
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of the Island

“He who thinks he knows, doesn’t know. He who knows that he doesn’t know, knows. For in this context, to know is not to know. And not to know is to know.”
― Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth

“I couldn't tell him that I felt too weak and beat up to climb a mountain: sometimes, all the guts you have is the guts you pretend, because you love someone too much to lose their respect.”
― Gregory David Roberts, The Mountain Shadow

“It was not my pain but Ann’s. She was crying, frightened. Because I was hurt. She was afraid for me. I felt her anguish. She was suffering terribly. I tried to will away the shadows but I couldn’t. Tried in vain to speak her name. Don’t cry, I thought. I’ll be all right. Don’t be afraid. I love you, Ann. Where are you?”
― Richard Matheson, What Dreams May Come

“If you evade suffering you also evade the chance of joy. Pleasure you may get, or pleasures, but you will not be fulfilled. You will not know what it is to come home.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed: An Ambiguous Utopia