Rome had never done a budget, Marisol had never designed costumes and sets, and Suzanne had never acted, but when I asked them to help, they didn't hesitate

— Adriana Trigiani

That's my little piece of heaven. Go ahead." Ciro followed Demo through the open door to a small enclosed garden. Terra-cotta pots positioned along the top of the stone wall spilled over with red geraniums and orange impatiens. An elm tree with a wide trunk and deep roots filled the center with the garden. Its green leaves and thick branches reached past the roof of Demo's building, creating a canopy over the garden. There was a small white marble birdbath, gray with soot, flanked by two deep wicker armchairs. Demo fished a cigarette out of his pocket, offering another to Cairo as both men took a seat. "This is where I come to think."" Va been," Cairo said as he looked up into the tree. He remembered the thousands of trees that blanketed the Alps; here on Mulberry Street, one tree with peeling gray bark and holes in its leaves was cause for celebration.

— Adriana Trigiani

That's when you know for sure somebody loves you. They figure out what you need, and they give it to you -- without you asking.

— Adriana Trigiani

The dance that I wasn't going to attend in about a million years just turned into a make-out session with random boys we have never met.

— Adriana Trigiani

There's nothing an artist needs more - even more than excellent tools and stamina - than a deadline.

— Adriana Trigiani

The 'Story of Silent Night', which was given to me one Christmas when I was six - it was the story of a down-and-out composer who had no ideas left, and it was Christmas, and he came up with the hymn 'Silent Night.'

— Adriana Trigiani

The terrible things that happen to us in life never make any sense when we're in the middle of them, floundering, no end in sight. There is no rope to hang on to, it seems. Mothers can soothe children during those times, through their reassurance. No one worries about you like your mother, and when she is gone, the world seems unsafe, things that happen unwieldy. You cannot turn to her anymore, and it changes your life forever. There is no one on earth who knew you from the day you were born; who knew why you cried, or when you'd had enough food; who knew exactly what to say when you were hurting; and who encouraged you to grow a good heart. When that layer goes, whatever is left of your childhood goes with her. Memories are very different and cannot soothe you the same way her touch did.

— Adriana Trigiani

The young have everything but wisdom.

— Adriana Trigiani

This is one of those times when explaining a feeling cannot measure up to actually having the feeling

— Adriana Trigiani

This is where men and women are different, we can put aside petty competition for relationships - they can't. It interferes.

— Adriana Trigiani