Pat Conroy Quotes

“He was one of those rare men who are capable of being fully in love only once in their lives.

“Writing poetry and reading books causes brain damage.”

“Man wonders but God decides When to kill the Prince of Tides.”

“Teach them the quiet verbs of kindness, to live beyond themselves. Urge them toward excellence, drive them toward gentleness, pull them deep into yourself, pull them upward toward manhood, but softly like an angel arranging clouds. Let your spirit move through them softly.”

“There is such a thing as too much beauty in a woman and it is often a burden as crippling as homeliness and far more dangerous. It takes much luck and integrity to survive the gift of perfect beauty, and its impermanence is its most cunning betrayal.”

“These are the quicksilver moments of my childhood I cannot remember entirely. Irresistible and emblematic, I can recall them only in fragments and shivers of the heart.”

“A family is one of nature’s solubles; it dissolves in time like salt in rainwater.”

“You get a little moody sometimes but I think that’s because you like to read.”

“My wound is geography. It is also my anchorage, my port of call.”

“The only word for goodness is goodness, and it is not enough.”

“She was one of those Southerners who knew from an early age that the South could never be more for them than a fragrant prison, administered by a collective of loving but treacherous relatives.”

“But even her demons she invested with inordinate beauty, consecrated them with the dignity of her attention.”

“There are no ideas in the South, just barbecue.”