“Once a bird had lost his ability to fly, not much else could be done in the way of mending him. Losing a wing was a little like losing a leg and the freedom of movement, of spirit, it granted… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share Image
“Every Saturday, heat or cold, rain or shine, Milly would see Avery running up their road, her long blond ponytail swishing in time with… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share Image
“As much as Milly loved seeing Asa on that tractor, a part of her dreaded the days he came to mow, not only because her father made her go out to him with cookies and lemonade and watched her closely the entire time, but also because on those nights, Bett and Twiss would trick her into talking about Asa, and… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share
“My art teacher says I have talent," Twiss told her father, thinking of her last piece. Although she usually preferred to draw things like bloody axes and pus balls, for the last project of the quarter her teacher had asked them to draw a picture of what happiness felt like. Twiss drew a flock of all different kinds of birds-… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share
“What she didn’t understand when she was fourteen, but understood very well now, was that not everyone in the world could be saved or,… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share Image
“Bett didn't have any siblings because she said her father had preserved what was dead for too long to be able to create life. When Bet was younger and had begged for one, her father gave her a marmot he' stuffed for a man from Wyoming. "This is your brother Christopher," he'd said, placing the marmot on Bett's pillow one… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share
“She could see that like most people in the world, her mother just wanted to be loved.” — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share Image
“Milly went to work on her piecrust. After she'd rolled out the bottom layer and then the top one, she moved on to the kidney beans. She didn't know that the beans had to be soaked in warm water overnight and then cooked for several hours otherwise they'd upset the digestive tract- 'to the point of tears,' Milly would read… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share
“The idea of Milly drowning in the riverside made Twiss think of an angel falling from the sky; Milly had two pink birthmarks the… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share Image
“According to her chore list, she was supposed to feed the chickens. Milly hd already retrieved the eggs. She'd mentioned something about egg salad, if she could round up a jar of pickles in the cellar. "A change might do us good," she'd said, which made Twiss laugh. "Nothing like old pickles to oust us from routine." Twiss fed the… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share
“This book I'm reading says if you want to be as thin as a stalk of celery, then that's what you should be eating.… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share Image
“As much as Twiss craved adventures in other places, she didn’t want those places to change how she felt about home.” — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share Image
“At the end of his visit, Mr. Peterson's doctor wrote out a complicated list of dietary recommendations for Bett, which included meat, meat, and meat, and also plenty of butter and cream. He said she was lacking animal proteins, what Bett called 'grr.' Now instead of washing and ironing all morning, their mother spent that time preparing meals- 'A carnivore's… — Rebecca Rasmussen Copy Share
