... just because [butterflies'] lives were short didn't mean they were tragic... See, they have a beautiful life. Lisa Genova More Quotes by Lisa Genova More Quotes From Lisa Genova She liked being reminded of butterflies. She remembered being six or seven and crying over the fates of the butterflies in her yard after learning that they lived for only a few days. Her mother had comforted her and told her not to be sad for the butterflies, that just because their lives were short didn't mean they were tragic. Watching them flying in the warm sun among the daisies in their garden, her mother had said to her, see, they have a beautiful life. Alice liked remembering that. Lisa Genova mother beautiful life Be creative, be useful, be practical, be generous and finish big Lisa Genova practicals bigs creative And I have no control over which yesterdays I keep and which ones get deleted. This disease will not be bargained withMy yesterdays are disappearing, and my tomorrows are uncertain, so what do I live for? I live for each day. I live in the moment. Some tomorrow soon, I'll forget that I stood before you and gave this speech. But just because I'll forget it some tomorrow doesn't mean that I didn't live every second of it today. I will forget today, but that doesn't mean that today doesn't matter. Lisa Genova yesterday live-in-the-moment mean Don't aim for perfect. Aim for complete. Perfection is an unattainable illusion. Lisa Genova illusion unattainable perfect Everything she did and love, everything she was, required language. Lisa Genova and-love language But I am not what I say or what I do or what I remember. I am fundamentally more than that. Lisa Genova remember Take what you've learned and love someone again. Find someone to love and love without condition. This is why we're all here. Lisa Genova love-someone conditions and-love Time's a funny thing, bending, warping, stretching, and compressing, all depending on perspective. Lisa Genova bending funny-things perspective And you, Mom. I loved you. You've asked if i felt and understood that you loved me. of course I did. And you know this. I loved your love because it kept me safe and happy and wanted, and it existed beyond words and hugs and eyes. Lisa Genova hug mom eye I decide I'm not dead because I can hear the sound of the rain hitting the roof of the car. I'm alive because I'm listening to the rain, and the rain becomes the hand of God strumming his fingers on the roof, deciding what to do. Lisa Genova rain life hands I smile, loving him for changing with me, for going where my Neglect has taken us, for getting the new me. Lisa Genova i-smile new-me taken Alice: I miss myself. John: I miss you too, Ali, so much. Lisa Genova missing But will I always love her? Does my love for her reside in my head or my heart? The scientist in her believed that emotion resulted from complex limbic brain circuitry that was for her, at this very moment, trapped in the trenches of a battle in which there would be no survivors. The mother in her believed that the love she hadd for her daughter was safe from the mayhem in her mind, because it lived in her heart. Lisa Genova daughter mother heart You're so beautiful," said Alice. "I'm afraid of looking at you and not knowing who you are." "I think that even if you don't know who I am someday, you'll still know that I love you." "What if I see you, and I don't know that you're my daughter, and I don't know that you love me?" "Then, I'll tell you that I do, and you'll believe me. Lisa Genova daughter beautiful believe Even then, more than a year earlier, there were neurons in her head, not far from her ears, that were being strangled to death, too quietly for her to hear them. Some would argue that things were going so insiduously wrong that the neurons themselves initiated events that would lead to their own destruction. Whether it was molecular murder or cellular suicide, they were unable to warn her of what was happening before they died. Lisa Genova events suicide years She read it again. It was fascinating and surreal, like reading a diary that had been hers when she was a teenager, secret and heartfelt words written by a girl she only vaguely remembered. She wished she'd written more. Her words mad her feel sad and proud, powerful and relieved." p 272 Lisa Genova teenager girl powerful In the ladies' room, Alice studied her image in the mirror. The reflected older woman's face didn't quite match the picture that she had of herself in her mind's eye." p 35 Lisa Genova mirrors eye mind At some point, there would simply be no point. Lisa Genova no-point The well-being of a neuron depends on its ability to communicate with other neurons. Studies have shown that electrical and chemical stimulation from both a neuron's inputs and its targets support vital cellular processes. Neurons unable to connect effectively with other neurons atrophy. Useless, an abandoned neuron will die. Lisa Genova target support useless
