It was like she was thinking, How far can I go with this? How much more can I fit in my life without losing control?

What if I was! That’s my point. What if I was a bit overweight and not especially pretty? Why is that so terrible? So disgusting? Why is that the end of the world?

But maybe every life looked wonderful if all you saw was the photo albums.

We'd traveled, we'd been to lots of parties, lots of movies and concerts, we'd slept in. We'd done all those things that people with children seem to miss so passionately. We didn't want those things anymore. We wanted a baby.

Marriage was a form of insanity; love hovering permanently on the edge of aggravation.

Nobody ever told you that being a mother is all about making what seemed like thousands of tiny decisions.

Why did she give up wine for Lent? Polly was more sensible. She had given up strawberry jam. Cecilia had never seen Polly show more than a passing interest in strawberry jam, although now, of course, she was always catching her standing at the open fridge, staring at it longingly. The power of denial.