More quotes by Janet Fitch, White Oleander

"Don't turn over the rocks if you don't want to see the pale creatures who live under them."
"What can I say about life? Do I praise it for letting you live, or damn it for allowing the rest?"
"Always learn poems by heart. They have to become the marrow in your bones. Like fluoride in the water, they'll make your soul impervious to the world's soft decay."
"The phoenix must burn to emerge."
"Loneliness is the human condition. Cultivate it. The way it tunnels into you allows your soul room to grow. Never expect to outgrow loneliness. Never hope to find people who will understand you, someone to fill that space. If you expect to find people who will understand you, you will grow murderous with disappointment."