“Child, the more you want to hurry life up, the slower it gets.”
Lillian offers Chanda this reproof. Young and eager, Chanda has big dreams for the future. She's influenced by the high expectations of her teachers at school, but her mom's advice catches up with her when life starts going downhill for the both of them.
“Save your anger to fight injustice. Forgive the rest.”
Again Lillian tries to counsel Chanda to live less impulsively. As a girl, Chanda doesn't take her mom seriously. It's not until she's reeling after the repeated sexual abuse she experienced at the hands of Issac that she remembers this quote. Then she witnesses firsthand the righteous anger which her mom has been cultivating all these years when she explodes at Issac upon learning the truth.
“Where there is love there is life; where there is life there is hope.”
Chanda is one of the most resilient, persistent people imaginable. Despite a constant uphill battle, she remains committed to optimism. She loves her family more than anything, so she endures many extreme challenges in order to protect and provide for them. Her love is her motivating factor always which also provides her with hope for the future.
“We stare at each other. Time disappears. I feel the world turn calm. My shoulders melt. I close my eyes. I see Mama, big the way she used to be. Her arms cradle me. I hear the sound of her laughter, rich and round. My heart glowed with her warmth.”
Chanda and her mother share the most touching moment in the entire book together when Chanda goes to visit Lillian during her recuperation in Tiro. Alarmed to find her mom in significantly worse health than when she left, Chanda learns that her mom has AIDS. Lillian confesses that she knew all along which is why she agreed to stay in Tiro for a while so that she could die privately without bringing shame and pain to her children. Touched by the intensity of her mom's love, Chanda embraces her and insists on bringing her back home to the family.
