Nicholas Sparks

A truth emerges in any long marriage, and the truth is this: Our spouses sometimes know us better than we even know ourselves.

[Written on back of photograph of Ruth and Daniel]

"Ruth LevinsonThird grade teacher.She believes in me and I can be anything I want when I grow up.I can even change the world."

"My plea to you is this: despite your sadness, do not forget how happy you have made me; do not forget that I loved a man who loved me in return, and this was the greatest gift I could ever hope to receive."

"'If there is a heaven, we will find each other again, for there is no heaven without you.'"

"...I said everything that matters... Don't take my advice. Or anyone's advice. Trust yourself. For good or for bad, happy or unhappy, it's your life, and what you do with it has always been entirely up to you."

"Maybe I don't want to be defined by what I do. Maybe I'd like to be defined by what I am."

"Love doesn't mean anything if you're not willing to make a commitment, and you have to think not only about what you want, but about what he wants. Not just now, but in the future."

"Long-term relationships--the ones that matter--are all about weathering the peaks and valleys."

As much as I love her, I admit that she has always remained somewhat of an enigma to me...I liked this about her. I liked the mystery she added to my life. I liked the occasional silence between us, for ours was a comfortable silence. It was a passionate silence, one that had its roots in comfort and desire.

...the grass isn't always greener on the other side. What the younger generation didn't understand was that the grass was greener where it's watered, which meant that both Frank and Amanda had to get out their hoses if they wanted to make things better.

...he had the sense that they were both lonely, albeit in different ways. He was a solitary figure in a vast landscape while she was a face in a nameless crowd.

"I'm not sure anyone's life turns out exactly the way they imagine. All we can do is to try to make the best of it. Even when it seems impossible."