"That was the one time I have ever known her to cry, and it was the first time I remember her holding me in her arms. We sat in the dark closet together for a long time; then when there were no more tears left, we crawled out and began our decade together." Chapter 1, pg. 12

"There was never a doubt in Aunt Cordelia's mind but that her teaching was the best to be had, and she would have felt that she was denying something beyond price to the handful of country children who sat in her classroom, if she allowed a younger or a less dedicated woman to take over." Chapter 2, pg. 15

"It happens the world over - we love ourselves more than we do the one we say we love. We all want to be Number One; we've got to be Number One or nothing! We can't...