Tami Hoag quotes:

Throw up" Victor said.Bacteria, he believed, would run up his arms and gain access to his brain through his ear canalsVomit. Puke. Spew. Disgorge. Regorge. Discharge- like excrement.""Victor, stop it!" Doll snappedYou're making me nauseous.""Talk--vomit words. Sound and sound alike," he said."

Minnesotans hate zeal. Zeal is right up there on the list of suspicious emotional behaviors like joy and despair. Always err on the side of blandness.

She had the kind of looks that had probably been quite pretty in high school, but were now worn down by years of smoking cigarettes, raising children, and the disappointment of being married to an asshole.

You learn who you really are in a fight - what you're really made of. You have to face yourself and rise above your own fears and failings.

But then I had long mistaken being spoiled for being strong, being defiant for being independent, being reckless for being brave.

The last I knew you were going to a party. just a few friends at the McEvoys' you told me. The science club, you told me. What happened? You got into a fight about the theory of relativity? Did creationists crash the party and start a rumble?

I'm telling you, you did what you believed you had to do through all of this. Not what was easiest or best for you. You did what you did, and you're owning it. And I don't know ten men who would be brave enough to do that.

The horse world is populated by two kinds of people: those who love horses, and those who exploit horses and the people who love them.

The world isn't black and white, Annie, it's shades of grey.

They don't matter. I thought I had to prove something, and I did, to myself. There's nothing left for me to prove. I can move on with my life.

I so admire the discipline, the work ethic, and the sacrifices fighters make to master all aspects of mixed martial arts.

Being rich has never stopped anyone from being greedy.

Family was a fertile breeding ground for the kind of psychological bacteria that warped minds and devoured hope.

In a lifestyle where there are no boundaries, it becomes a challenge to find one's true self. If everything comes easily, there is no way to establish worth. And if nothing has real value, then there is no way to gauge satisfaction or accomplishment or contentment.

We do the best we can," she said softly, looking inward. "And punish ourselves for it. I've tried to make my choices with the idea that I've made those choices for the greatest good. Sometimes someone suffers in the process, but I made the decision for the right reason. That should count for something, shouldn't it?

We never know the quality of someone else's life, though we seldom resist the temptation to assume and pass judgement.