A Thousand Splendid Suns

"Suffering is like a vast ocean. You cannot cross it by swimming; you must learn to survive on it."

"It's women who pay the price. And then never forget to tax them for it, as well."

"Patience is the price of survival."

"Dignity cannot be taken; it can only be surrendered."

"A child born of violence is still innocent."

"The past cannot be changed, only accepted."

"Forgiveness is the only path to peace."

"We are prisoners in our own homes."

"Suffering can break you or it can make you stronger."

"A harami has no honor, no family name to protect."

"Despair is a luxury we cannot afford."

"The Taliban took everything from us, but they could not take our memories."

"Sometimes we must do unpleasant things to survive."

"I will be the faithful wife. I will bear his children and cook his meals and clean his house."

"You can never leave me. I will find you even if you go to the ends of the earth."

"A woman's first duty is to her family, to her honor."

"It always hurts more to have and lose than never to have had at all."

"What is the sense in loving the dead?"

"A woman's face is her husband's business card."

"There is no heroism in poisoning a camel."

"Tomorrow is uncertain, but today we are alive."

"We are bound together now, forever."

"Books are a refuge when the world is cruel."

"I have become someone I don't recognize."

"You will never be worth what they pay for a boy."

"Water can quench thirst. Stories can quench other kinds of thirst."

"This is your life now. Accept it."

"I didn't ask for this, Miriam. I was just a girl."

"You are my sister now. In every way that matters."

"You think I am a fool. That I don't see things."