“Sometimes these spirits have been more real to me than people, more real than God. They fill silence with their weight, dense… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“Looking closely at Molly’s file, Lori the social worker settles on a stool. “So you’ll be aging out of foster care in… — Christina Baker Kline Foster care Copy Share Image
“Something in his manner makes me want to confide things to him I've never told anyone. Even painful things, shameful things. I… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“Sitting on the cot with my back against the wall, I held Maisie the way Mam had shown me, cupped over my… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“Molly’s been surprised to find that she looks forward to it. Ninety-one years is a long time to live—there’s a lot of… — Christina Baker Kline Christmas Copy Share Image
“I try to forget the horror of what happened. Or—perhaps forget is the wrong word. How can I forget? And yet how… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“What do you mean?” I ask. “The Children’s Aid—” Mrs. Byrne clasps her hands together and gives me a tight-lipped smile. “You… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“When she leaves, I inspect my reflection in the mirror—the first time since arriving in Minnesota I’ve looked in a whole piece… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“I am the only one of my siblings with red hair. When I asked my da where I got it, he joked… — Christina Baker Kline Autumn leaves Copy Share Image
“In Bangor, she’d had no incentive to do homework—her foster parents were partiers, and she’d come home from school to find a… — Christina Baker Kline Parenting Copy Share Image
“Three days after the fire, Mr. Schatzman wakes me from sleep to tell me that he and Mrs. Schatzman have figured out… — Christina Baker Kline Father and brother Copy Share Image
“You’re not mending a rip in your father’s trousers. People are paying good money—” “I know how to sew,” I blurt. “Maybe… — Christina Baker Kline Fanny Copy Share Image
“The old woman nods and settles back in her chair. She seems to approve. Molly feels some of the tension leave her… — Christina Baker Kline Old people Copy Share Image
I love you," he writes again and again. "I can't bear to live without you. I'm counting the minutes until I see… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“Once I’m out of the woods and on the main road, a full moon bathes the fields around me in a shimmering,… — Christina Baker Kline Full moon Copy Share Image
“Mrs. Scatcherd nods. “All right, Mr. Curran, are we ready?” “We are, Mrs. Scatcherd,” he says, and leans against the large door… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“It was worse for Mam, who discovered on the boat she was again with child and could hardly keep any food down.… — Christina Baker Kline Children Copy Share Image
“The small foyer is gloomy and dark. Shadows from the white crocheted curtain on the one window cast lacy shapes on the… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“WE’VE MISSED YOU, DOROTHY!” MISS LARSEN SAYS WHEN I return to school. “And my—a brand-new hairstyle!” I touch the top of my… — Christina Baker Kline Flappers Copy Share Image
“These women are a little afraid of Mrs. Murphy, I can see. Over the course of dinner I notice that she can… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“One of your tasks will be to sweep the front porch, steps, and walkway every day until the snow comes. Rain or… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“she takes a deep breath and runs a finger under the chain around her neck. “My dad gave me these charms, and… — Christina Baker Kline Black magic Copy Share Image
“Time constricts and flattens, you know. It’s not evenly weighted. Certain moments linger in the mind and others disappear. The first twenty-three… — Christina Baker Kline Time Copy Share Image
“I skip down the driveway, hurry up the road, linger on the bridge for a moment, looking down at the reflection of… — Christina Baker Kline Christmas tree Copy Share Image
Do you believe in spirits? Or ghosts?...Yes, I do. I believe in ghosts…They're the ones who haunt us. The ones who have… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“YOU—THE IRISH GIRL. OVER HERE.” A THIN, SCOWLING MATRON in a white bonnet beckons with a bony finger. She must know I’m… — Christina Baker Kline Children Copy Share Image
“In Mr. Reed’s classroom there’s a photo of Molly Molasses taken near the end of her life. In it she sits ramrod… — Christina Baker Kline Life Copy Share Image
“In American History they’ve been studying how the United States was founded on indentured servitude. The teacher, Mr. Reed, said that in… — Christina Baker Kline American history Copy Share Image
“The night of the fire, the night they took me in, I could hear Mrs. Schatzman in her bedroom, fretting with her… — Christina Baker Kline Marriage Copy Share Image
“don’t know how much of my memory of this time is affected by my age now and how much is a result… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“Over the years, certain stories in the history of a family take hold. They're passed from generation to generation, gaining substance and… — Christina Baker Kline Family Copy Share Image
“They call this an orphan train, children, and you are lucky to be on it. You are leaving behind an evil place,… — Christina Baker Kline Children Copy Share Image
“The date was in your paperwork.” Miss Larsen smiles, handing me a slice of currant bread. “My landlady made this.” I look… — Christina Baker Kline Birthday Copy Share Image
“Only hours earlier, my da had come in from his job at the bar and changed his clothes, as he always did… — Christina Baker Kline Copy Share Image
“I am the only one of my siblings with red hair. When I asked my da where I got it, he joked… — Christina Baker Kline Autumn leaves Copy Share Image
“As with Dutchy and Carmine on the train, this little cluster of women has become a kind of family to me. Like… — Christina Baker Kline Belonging Copy Share Image
“Before we leave the gravesite, Mary sings Mother's favorite gospel hymn ... Mary's lovely voice rises and lingers in the air, and… — Christina Baker Kline Change Copy Share Image
“She remembers third grade at the Indian Island School, where she learned that the name Penobscot is from Panawahpskek, meaning “the place… — Christina Baker Kline Third grade Copy Share Image
“It had been two years since we left our home on the west coast of Ireland. Life was hard there, too; our… — Christina Baker Kline Ellis island Copy Share Image
“When Mrs. Byrne isn’t around, Mr. Byrne is friendly. He likes to talk with me about Ireland. His own family, he tells… — Christina Baker Kline East coast Copy Share Image
