The Remedy Quotes
"It seems a little heartless, even to me, that I can't mourn their loss. But I've only known these people for two days."
"I loved you more than anything, but you were torn away. I tried... I tried so hard, but I couldn't save you. I'm sorry, Emily."
"I'm safe now. Nothing can ever hurt me again. Not one thing."
"But, Mom... this wasn't your fault. It was an accident—a terrible, tragic accident. Please don't blame yourself anymore. I forgive you."
"I’m saving lives—even if sometimes it’s hard to remember which one is mine."
"It’s high risk, and the return is always more difficult after being cut off completely. But it’s our job."
"This isn’t just a job for me, it’s who I am. I become these people, live their lives, feel their love and pain."
"We’re both better off. Remind Deacon of that next time he’s checking up on me."
"Clients sometimes fixate on an object that reminds them of their lost loved one. I’ve seen family members fight over a key chain, a favorite blanket or stained T-shirt."
"I’m a patchwork of other people’s memories, but somehow they feel truer than my own."
"The minute I come into view, my mother jumps up, twisting her hands nervously in front of her."
"There’s an initial chill when Marie and my dad say their hellos, and my father drives toward the freeway."
"Perception colors everything, I think. What’s real to us anyway? Only our perception."
"I’m about to be abandoned in this new life. This part is always a bit unsettling."
"I’ve always hated this part, sort of like a performer before going onstage—only this is life and not a play, a grossly exaggerated form of method acting."
"I love your hair so much," my mother says for the third time, startling me from my thoughts."
"We were terrible partners," I tell him. That’s not true, but I like to torture him every so often with my denial."
"You liked to find things for me to shoot," he says. "Those were all places and objects you picked out. I took them for you."
"Every time you go on assignment, you come back a little different. You should end your contract. Who cares about money? I'll give you mine. I just... I don't want you to lose yourself."
"It feels good, you know? Filling this emptiness."
"People get sick of hearing sorry, you know? I'm sick of it."
"You can't give someone closure in a few days. You can't just take the pain away."
"I reset them on a new path," I say. "A path with less guilt or longing. You can't imagine the degree of comfort that comes with saying good-bye."
"Sometimes the ends justify the means," he says solemnly. "And those times, we have to be the ones to decide what's worth losing."
"This life seems pretty great to me," I say, lowering my eyes to my lap. "Her family. You. I wouldn't even know what to do with that much love."
"No one is that selfless. Why do you really do this?"
"I've devoted myself to this, but I don't always love it. Like I told you that first night, I hurt too."
"Make sure the boy you marry wants you for you, because you deserve the best kind of love."
"They can’t see you, but I do. You’re right here, Catalina. You never left."
"We were at the lake house, in one of the loft bedrooms because we thought it was tacky to use the large bed in his parents’ room."
"I doubt that’s still intact, but I assure you I won’t find out."
"Tears sting my eyes, and my headache won’t dissipate."
"I don’t want any pills," I tell her. "I have to get out of here."
"I need to think," I tell the people on the other side.
"There was a picture, I remember desperately."
"Deacon," I murmur, lifting my head. I have to find Deacon.
"I’m sorry," I say, feeling horrible for upsetting him.
"No," she says quietly. "He doesn’t want to hear the details."
"I’m sorry," I say, sounding like her daughter. "I’ve never... I didn’t mean to freak out."
"It’s not your fault," he says, adjusting the blanket as he moves to rest against the headboard.
"It’s time to say good-bye," he says, smiling at the irony.
"This is our next candidate," Marie says, taking a seat next to the girl. She puts her arm around the back of the chair to offer the child the feeling of comfort and safety.
"Don’t cry," she tells him in a closer’s voice. "Don’t cry, Daddy."
"My entire life is a lie, and I would be irresponsible to drag Deacon into that."
"My father didn’t count on the fact that I have power over myself."
"Who am I?" I ask him. "Because obviously that’s not me."
"You can’t see this now, but there are bigger things happening, things I’ve tried to protect you from."
"I don’t have a family, I think. I don’t belong to anybody."
"You’re not my father," I say instead, bitter. Hurt.
"I don’t even really exist," I murmur, the familiar hurt crawling up my throat.
"We’re both coldhearted closers," I whisper. "How do we keep from hurting each other again?"
"I haven’t escaped the grief department, escaped my life as the remedy for a sick world."