Quotations
“Do we really mean it when we say ‘in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, until death do us part or do we add a silent clause, ‘unless you shame me or disappoint me?’ What is the cost of unconditional love and how capable are we of giving that?”
Here are some excerpts from The Fugitive’s Doctor:
“I am the keeper of my husband’s history. This is a self-appointed role. I plan to learn everything about his life of the past and carry him into a future that is bright with hope. I shall guard his history from rumor and allegation and learn only the truth of his past. I shall then remember the things he cannot allow himself to remember. I shall find out all that I can about my husband’s life and will ensure that the lawyers know the truth. I shall fight the innuendo and crusade for true justice.
I refuse to be vanquished.”
“So, this is how it will play out. Today, in the sunshine, on the noisy sidewalk at Logan Airport in Boston, with people and their suitcases bumping into me, and taxi horns blaring and strangers going about their routine day, I’m about to learn that I have lost my husband. I will finally know his secrets.”
“The next morning he drove the stranger’s car half way to the Registry of Motor Vehicles before he realized he could not apply for a driver’s license. He suddenly realized he had left his name at the prison.”
“The bartender recommended a particular wine.
“How much is that?” Sam asked.
“I don’t know; maybe about a hundred dollars,” the bartender answered.
“A hundred dollars! This is my wife not my girlfriend.”
“The man I know takes care of me and makes me laugh. He is kind and loving, affectionate and thoughtful. He isn’t a “bad guy.” Do I judge him by what I learn about him or by the man I know?”
“There are lines one has to draw in any relationship. While I would not think twice to die for people I loved, I did think twice about being an accomplice.”
“I am flagrantly nuts. I can say this because I am a doctor and I know about these things.”
“I am exhausted. Preparing to commit suicide correctly is very exhausting.”
“At some point, one fatigues of pacing and chanting and just burns out. At some point, one day becomes the next and the next, without beginning or ending. The vigil has no time, the clock (is it A.M. or P.M.?) has no meaning and the routine is punctuated by sleep time nightmares alternating with day time terrors.
I cannot tell which is worse.
Sometimes, I cannot tell which is which.”
“I know that many, if not most, women would have a problem with my acceptance of what happened with Lara.
The reality is I shall always be grateful to Lara for helping my husband when I could not do so. I couldn’t have chosen a better or kinder surrogate.”
“May I pray with you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She placed her hands over mind and we bowed our heads. She spoke beautiful words about our marriage and asked God to grant the hopeful wishes in my heart.
Silent warm tears streamed down my face.
From her lips to God’s Ears.”
“You leave everything behind when you enter the FCC in the Middle of Nowhere; you leave democracy, free speech, entitlement and freedom.”
“Then, I hugged my grandchildren twice as strongly as usual, loving them both for being present themselves as well as to commemorate those who were not here. Some would never be present again but my Christmas wish was that William would be playing, laughing and singing with them at some future Christmas celebration.”
“I define myself by helping others. This is what I do.
Those people who want me to abandon my husband are asking me to put myself first and to judge him. The poor man has been judged unfairly by others. Why would I abandon him in his greatest need?”
“I have spent my whole life preparing to be William Wallace’s wife. The choices I make are defined by the person I am.”
“I am Mrs. William Victor Wallace. I am married to a federal felon whom I love unconditionally.
I hold my head high, I take pride in my life and I walk this world without regret.
I will be the perfect wife and my husband deserves nothing less.”
One of my other favorite quotations which is referenced in the novel:
“The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same nor would you want to.” Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and John Kessler, “On Grief and Grieving”
