And the very act of living is a tide; at first it seems to make no difference at all, and then one day you look down and see how much pain has eroded - Jodi Picoult

I ...understand how a parent might hit a child- it's because you can look into their eyes and see a reflection of yourself that you wish you hadn't.

When we're awake, we see what we need to see. When we're asleep, we see what is really there.

Sometimes when you pick up your child you can feel the map of your own bones beneath your hands, or smell the scent of your skin in the nape of his neck. This is the most extraordinary thing about motherhood - finding a piece of yourself separate and apart that all the same you could not live without.