“There is a kind of transaction that occurs between a person and a place: you give the place something and it gives you something in return. In years to come, Hodel would know for certain not only what Nerchinsk had taken, but what it had given her as well.”

“And life can have its way with me. It won't break me. Neither you nor me. That determined faith in our own resilience is our only weapon against the cynical, the weak, those who talk of honor but do not practice the word they so loudly and vigorously screech.”

“While we must always strive to grow beyond those who come before us, we must revere and learn from those that broke the ground originally, endeavor to honor their legacy, and then continue in our own vision.”

“There is a kind of transaction that occurs between a person and a place: you give the place something and it gives you something in return. In years to come, Hodel would know for certain not only what Nerchinsk had taken, but what it had given her as well.”

“He loved her. He loved her because nature willed it. Because they were already united and of one body. The bare flesh on every part of her belonged to him. The scent emitting from her skin was his.”

“For now, I look to God, for I know He will respond to my questions. For I believe, in the deepest part of my heart, that He shall truly bring us into a frame of mind where we may hear His greatest responses . . . Perhaps not the final answers, but at the very least, the next response we need.”