“they saythey only wantflowersto grow frommy mouth,so i willlook themdeadin theeyeas ishovesoft petalspastmy lips,chewwithmy jawcompletelyunhinged,& spitthemdownattheir feet-i will never be your expectations of me”

“Our daughter is a princess in our world; she is our love, laughter, joy, and treasure.”

“His mother’s flowers won all sorts of prizes for their beauty, but he thought Libby, with her brilliant copper-streaked hair and striking blue eyes, was more beautiful than anything found in a garden. She was an enchanting princess, reigning over a comely court.He’d known Libby was a princess since they were children. She’d captivated him long before he started school, and for years, he’d been trying to win her attention. Some people thought she was crazy, but she wasn’t. She was ethereal. Magical. Like a fairy or butterfly.If only he could be like her. Happy and free.She seemed to understand what so many people did not. That happiness was not found in trying to pigeonhole one’s self into another’s ideal. Happiness was found in embracing all you were created to be.She twirled again in the twilight.Libby seemed to draw energy from the flowers.”

“Dear Princess, One day you will stand in the mirror to see the woman that you have become, your beauty would drown your scars, your victories would be more than your battles, you will finally see yourself through the eyes of the father. Pay attention to the process, God’s process is as good as the outcome HE pursues.”

“The good news is that I believe every woman who wants to can find a great partner. You’re just going to need to get rid of the idea that marriage will make you happy. It won’t. Once the initial high wears off, you’ll just be you, except with twice as much laundry. Because ultimately, marriage is not about getting something — it’s about giving it. Strangely, men understand this more than we do. Probably because for them marriage involves sacrificing their most treasured possession — a free-agent penis — and for us, it’s the culmination of a princess fantasy so universal, it built Disneyland.”

“Inconceivable!””You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

“I will find you.In the farthest corner, I will find you.”

“Whatever comes,” she said, “cannot alter one thing. If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside. It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold, but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one all the time when no one knows it.”