“I presented him with an African violet, which I saw as symbolically useful, though I’m not sure the others understood the subtleties. (African violets must be watered from the bottom, not the top, and this, I believe, is analogous to… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
“He wondered exactly how lost a person could get. Lost at sea, lost in the woods. Fatally lost.” — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
“Dorrie gave Larry's hand an excited, distracted squeeze that said: almost home. They were about to be matter-of-factly claimed by familiar streets and houses… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
“…it's occurred to her that there are millions, billions, of other men and women in the world who wake up early in their separate… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
nothing she did or said was quite what she meant but still her life could be called a monument shaped in a slant of… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
So this is where the years of maturity deliver us - to this needy, selfish, unwieldy wish to be somebody else's first and primal… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
In a long and healthy life, which is what most of us have, there is plenty of time. — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
“This was during a period in my reading life when I was given to understand that "relating" to the fictional characters or situation was… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
Open a book this minute and start reading. Don’t move until you’ve reached page fifty. Until you’ve buried your thoughts in print. Cover yourself… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
A woman's life isn't worth a plateful of cabbage if she hasn't felt life stir under her heart. Taking a little one to nurse,… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
“I won't even mention the swift, transitory reward of lemon spray wax. Danielle Westerman and I have discussed the matter of housework. Not surprisingly,… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
“A Canadian journalist named Pinky Fulham was killed when a soft drinks vending machine overturned, crushing him.” — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
“Men, it seemed to me in those days, were uniquely honored by the stories that erupted in their lives, whereas women were more likely… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
Bookish people, who are often maladroit people, persist in thinking they can master any subtlety so long as it's been shaped into acceptable expository… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
“Safety was one thing, but what he really wanted was to be electrified, to be wounded, to be cast into the wilderness, to be… — Carol Shields Copy Share Image
