All of our actions have in their doing the seed of their undoing. ... That in her creation of her children there should be the unspeakable promise of… - Louise Erdrich

All of our actions have in their doing the seed of their undoing. (p59)

What happens when you let an unsatisfactory present go on long enough? It becomes your entire history.

And Patrice thought another thing her mother said was definitely true — you never really knew a man until you told him you didn’t love him. That’s when his true ugliness, submerged to charm you, might surface.

If you should ever doubt that a series of dry words in a government document can shatter spirits and demolish lives, let this book (The Night Watchman) erase that doubt. Conversely, if you should be of the conviction that we are powerless to change those dry words, let this book give you heart.