Mary Alice Monroe

“Oh, if only I were young again, I would travel! There's so much of the world I would like to have seen.…

— Mary Alice Monroe

“All stories come to an end. That moment when we sigh and close the book, perhaps sit back in our chair and…

— Mary Alice Monroe

“A woman’s life has so many demands because she is the axis around which so many little planets spin.”

— Mary Alice Monroe

“Dawn tore at the seam of night, pulling the blackness back a little farther with each passing minute.”

— Mary Alice Monroe

“Rather than feel small, however, in this arena she felt part of something much bigger than herself. This gave her both a…

— Mary Alice Monroe

“Age is real life is short. It's foolhardy to deny it. We grow up, our bodies grow frail, death is coming. There's…

— Mary Alice Monroe

“Luz felt as though all the millions of butterflies that were flying on this same journey south were fluttering in her stomach.”

— Mary Alice Monroe

“not so heartbreaking. So it was with me after Tom’s death. In retrospect, I look at myself and my friends and I…

— Mary Alice Monroe

To me, the glass is half-empty some days and half-full on others. Sometimes it's bone-dry. Or overflowing.

— Mary Alice Monroe

Privacy is something that we maintain for the good of ourselves and others. Secrecy we keep to separate ourselves from others, even…

— Mary Alice Monroe

“And quickly. If you let it, grief could swallow you whole.”

— Mary Alice Monroe

“The secret to happiness is to embrace the humility to accept what comes and the courage to continue on your life's path…

— Mary Alice Monroe

“Sometimes she's so stuck up she'd drown in a rainstorm.”

— Mary Alice Monroe

“she’d neglected to make choices for her inner self as well. She’d given away too much.”

— Mary Alice Monroe

“See how people smile when they see a butterfly? They can't help themselves. Butterflies are joy with wings.”

— Mary Alice Monroe

I always begin with a source of inspiration that comes from nature. The story comes from my research, volunteering, and meeting the…

— Mary Alice Monroe

“Ideas are gifts from the gods. When we receive one we have to bow to them and offer thanks. Humbly. And believe…

— Mary Alice Monroe

The theme that runs through all my books is connection. Connection - physical and non-physical - with other humans, and connection with…

— Mary Alice Monroe

“To her mind, when you were drowning and a rope was thrown your way, you didn't waste time thinking about what to…

— Mary Alice Monroe

“Sometimes people get angry and do things they shouldn't. Things they regret.”

— Mary Alice Monroe

“She’d hatched into this new world of widowhood and wasn’t sure where to turn now for her own personal source of light.…

— Mary Alice Monroe

“No knowledge is wasted,”

— Mary Alice Monroe

“A woman does not need to live among many people to be content. She needs but one true companion, one soul mate…

— Mary Alice Monroe

Southern writing is regional: it includes dialect, settings, and cultural traditions from that region. However the themes and story conflicts are universal.…

— Mary Alice Monroe

As I began researching butterflies, however, the monarch stood out among all of them. It's the only butterfly - the only insect…

— Mary Alice Monroe