I changed it. I had to. Do you know why?" She studied him, her eyes grave. "Because that was then and this is now. Because the past is gone, even though it defines the present.

What our parents tell us when we are small seldom goes ignored, no matter how foolish it may be

Is there any phrase more ominous than "you need to see exactly what you've done"?

the past is history, the future's a mystery

When it comes to the past, everyone writes fiction.

It's best to be ruthless with the past.

Because that was then and this is now. Because the past is gone, even though it defines the present.

At the end of almost every AA meeting, someone read the Promises. One of these was 'We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it'. Dan thought he would always regret the past, but he had quit trying to shut the door. Why bother, when it would just come open again? The fucking had no latch, let alone a lock.

Atonement was powerful; it was the lock on the door you closed against the past.