90/93-year-old Jacob wonders as he gazes at his aged reflection, 'When did I stop being me?

— Sara Gruen

After sixty-one years together, she simply clutched my hand and exhaled.

— Sara Gruen

Afterward she lies nestled against me, her hair tickling my face. I stroke her lightly, memorizing her body. I want her to melt into me, like butter on toast. Furthermore, I want to absorb her and walk around for the rest of my days with her encased in my skin.

— Sara Gruen

Age is a terrible that

— Sara Gruen

Age is a terrible thief. Just when you're getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out from under you and stoops your back. It makes you ache and muddies your head and silently spreads cancer throughout your spouse.

— Sara Gruen

And don’t miss Frank Otto, the world’s most tattooed man! Held hostage in the darkest jungles of Borneo and tried for a crime he didn’t commit, and his punishment? Well, folks, his punishment is written all over his body in permanent ink!

— Sara Gruen

And then I laugh, because it's so ridiculous and so gorgeous, and it's all I am do to not melt into a fit of giggles. So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and my guilty conscience, why the hell shouldn't I run away with the circus? It's like Charlie told the cop. For this old man, this IS home.

— Sara Gruen

Don't mind Russ," he says. "He's a good kid underneath all those holes, although it's a wonder he doesn't spring a leak when he drinks

— Sara Gruen

Even as your body betrays you, your mind denies it.

— Sara Gruen

Even in your twenties you know how old you are. I'm twenty-three, you say, or maybe twenty-seven. But then in your thirties something strange starts to happen. It's a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. How old are you? Oh, I'm – you start confidently, but then you stop. You were going to say thirty-three, but you're not. You're thirty-five. And then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. It is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it.

— Sara Gruen