Just because you keep something a secret doesn't mean it never happened, no matter how much you want that to be true.

—Jodi Picoult in Vanishing Acts

reality memory past secrecy

About Jodi Picoult

Portrait of Jodi Picoult

Jodi Lynn Picoult ( PEE-koh; born 1966) is an American writer. As of 2026, Picoult has published 30 novels, several short stories, and has also written several issues of Wonder Woman. Approximately 40 million copies of her books are in print worldwide and have been translated into 34 languages. In...

More quotations from Jodi Picoult

You can't undo something that's happened; you can't take back a word that's already been said out loud.

—Jodi Picoult in Nineteen Minutes

time change permanence speech

Eventually, I told myself not to expect anything from him, and as a result it has gotten easier for me to take what comes.

—Jodi Picoult in My Sister's Keeper

Who I am and what I am capable of doing has always managed to surprise me.

—Jodi Picoult in Vanishing Acts

When I see him, his frame filling the doorway, I do not feel passion, excitement. I can't remember if I ever have. He makes me feel comfortable, like a favorite pair of shoes.

—Jodi Picoult in Songs of the Humpback Whale

Besides the obvious difference, there was not much distinction between losing a best friend and losing a lover: it was all about intimacy. One moment, you had someone to share your biggest triumphs and fatal flaws with; the next minute, you had to keep them bottled inside. One moment, you'd start to call her to tell her a snippet of news or to vent about your awful day before realizing you did not have that right anymore; the next, you could not remember the digits of her phone number.

—Jodi Picoult in Handle With Care

More quotations tagged with “secrecy”

The charitable acts that count the most are those done without anyone knowing.

—Elin Hilderbrand in The Perfect Couple

knowledge humility charity secrecy

The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.

—Carl von Clausewitz

surprise secrecy speed

Girls can be so petty and jealous. I swear they're worse than guys sometimes. Except they're all quiet about it. They sugarcoat it or else they talk behind each others backs. It's seriously twisted.

—Melody Carlson in The Jerk Magnet

gossip secrecy jealousy

Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we resort to to hide them.

—Francois de La Rochefoucauld

forgiveness secrecy defects

Never tell all you know—not even to the person you know best.

—Agatha Christie in The Secret Adversary

relationships disclosure secrecy

History

4 Dec 2015 Added