Finding appropriate quotes for our books can be an interesting exercise. I think some people just naturally remember what others have written and then confirm the actual quote and include them. I know there are other people, like me, who trust that the right quote will somehow magically appear at the right time and place. I think that happened for my first two books. What do you think of these?
My first book was the West Coast Trail: One Step at a Time and it chronicled an amazing 7 day, life-changing hike through a rain forest on the edge of the Pacific Ocean. For that book this quote appeared one day when I was looking for something else:
"Underlying the beauty of the spectacle there is meaning and significance. It is the elusiveness of that meaning that haunts us, that sends us again and again into the natural world where the key to the riddle is hidden. It sends us back to the edge of the sea, where the drama of life played its first scene on earth and perhaps even its prelude; where the forces of evolution are at work today, as they have been since the appearance of what we know as life."
The quote is from Rachel Carson, a wonderful writer and an environmentalist, long before it became popular and it perfectly describes not only my book, but my motivation.
Later, I wrote a book that is a message to "the girls who went away," the young women who have, for one reason or another, given up their children for adoption. My book is entitled "To My Secret Mother."
"In all of us, there is a hunger, marrow deep, to know our heritage, to know who we are - and where we come from. Without this enriching knowledge, there is a hollow yearning, there is the most disquieting - loneliness."
This quote is taken from the book "ROOTS" by Arthur Haley and once again, captures the essence of my book and my quest.
The popularity of quoting famous persons is a great way to add weight to your own work, but I really think that you should consider creating your own quotable quotes, too. Next time, I will offer a few ideas on how to go about that.
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