How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
First three years nothing was, he said. You don't realize how precious certain things are that you took for granted. Then they're gone and what you wouldn't give for one hour with that kid you used to take on the back of your bicycle, naming every single fact about the stegosaurus.
It's probably harder on you than on him, the woman said. It's like the people who got killed in New York. For them, it's over. The people who suffer are the ones they left behind. (17.27-28)
Although Alan isn't dealing with a death in the family in the same way that Wendy is, he has his own cross to bear. When she hears him talking about his son Tim, she realizes that he's mired in his own grief, too.
Quote #8
For Wendy, that September, colors had faded till there was only gray. Smells disappeared except for the one terrible lingering scent she had breathed in that night she traveled to lower Manhattan to see the wreckage for herself, a smell she couldn't get out of her lungs after that, whether she inhaled or not. (23.22)
Nothing is the same after Wendy's mother dies. She can't even see the same color and brightness in her life—instead, she's consumed with what she saw at the World Trade Center site and how everything was destroyed.
Quote #9
He tries to do the right thing. Take care of his son. Leave you to do what you need to sort out your own feelings. But as far as he's concerned he might as well be dead himself. Only what's worse is, he's not. He's got another fifty, sixty years of living to fill up on this planet, and at this stage I'm guessing one day feels pretty unbearable. (28.136)
When Wendy comes to Carolyn about Josh being romantically involved with Kate, Carolyn tries to explain to her just what Josh is going through these days. He needs some comfort and human connection in his life in order to survive this tragedy.