"...children put a strain on marriage while simultaneously keeping it together."

"An idle mind leads to mischief, her mother had said. And she'd paid, oh had she paid. She'd lost everything."

"Overbearing mothers usually give way to one of two things in their children: rebellion or passivity. In your case, the latter."

"We are at that age that balances between independence and conferring with your friends about every miniscule decision you make. I've never liked that part of adolescence."