Sara Jolene Tilman Quotes

“The tears that finally streamed from her eyes were tears not of mourning but of relief, and tears for the dark unknown that lay ahead of her.”

“She had avoided burying her mother beneath a blanket of white flowers for, to her, white symbolized purity, and nothing - not even death - would lead her to link Emma Tilman with purity.”

“When they buried mama, they threw dirt on the last person who’s going to exploit me.”

“Sara, do this and Sara, do that. Sara, bring me this. Pick up that. Sara, come here. Sara, go there. Commands that she would never hear again, and that she would not miss.”

“If Emma had ever smiled at her, Sara Jolene had not been looking. But Emma had been adept at mental torture.”

“I’m no worse than I ever was. This is just different.”

“The empty void inside of her was a new experience, or maybe it had always been there, and she’d been so harassed, so put upon that she hadn’t had time for self-reflection.”

“Well, that’s all in the past. Tomorrow, I’ll start finding out what life is really like.”

“If I have to learn how other people live, I’d better start now.”

“However, she needed a friend, any friend to whom she could feel close. At least she thought that was what she needed.”

“She’s, and I’m still not free of her.”

“Tears? She had no tears for Emma Tilman.”