Biographies Quotes

“From the onset of polio in 1921 until his death, Franklin, his family, his inner circle of advisers, and teams of physicians assiduously disguised the state of his health, promoting the fantasy of a robust leader who was always in excel- lent physical condition for a man his age. Severe heart disease was not admit- ted until twenty-five years after his death, and then only as part of a new and larger cover-up to conceal other severe medical problems. These deceptions still dominate the present-day narrative of Franklin’s health, especially so in his later years.”
― Steven Lomazow, FDR Unmasked: 73 Years of Medical Cover-ups That Rewrote History

“was it even my own mind making the decisions?”
― Edward Williams, Framed & Hunted: A True Story of Occult Persecution

“I felt like a secret agent, relying on my wits and charm to keep me alive amidst an epidemic of violent death”
― Edward Williams, Framed & Hunted: A True Story of Occult Persecution

“FDR Unmasked is first to present convincing evidence of Roosevelt’s battle with prostate cancer, underpinned by FBI memoranda and reliable firsthand information from multiple physicians - even a shocking admission by Eleanor Roosevelt to actress Veronica Lake that her husband was being treated for the disease.”
― Steven Lomazow, FDR Unmasked: 73 Years of Medical Cover-ups That Rewrote History

“Buy a whore a cup of tea and she'll tell you the world! Hookers know everything”
― Edward Williams, Framed & Hunted: A True Story of Occult Persecution

“I was learning about journalism, and I was learning about politics. I discovered there was plenty of politics in journalism, dumping a story, a great story, to keep the Mayor happy. I heard Coach Michael’s voice in my head: ‘You can’t run and gun, girl.’ Mitch’s voice: ‘You can’t wear that bikini, girl.’ Even Janice’s voice: ‘You can’t tell anyone, ever.’ Can’t. Can’t. Can’t. That’s why I wasn’t going to back down (about killing the story).”
― Karen Hinton, Penis Politics: A Memoir of Women, Men and Power

“The last few weeks of that summer, Janice lost interest in our conversations…. Her mind was taking her to other places, as though she was listening to a song or watching a movie or reading a book we could neither see nor hear.”
― Karen Hinton, Penis Politics: A Memoir of Women, Men and Power

“History is the essence of innumerable biographies.”
― Thomas Carlyle

“...to her all books were the same and, as with her subjects, she felt a duty to approach them without prejudice...Lauren Bacall, Winifred Holtby, Sylvia Plath - who were they? Only be reading could she find out.”
― Alan Bennett, The Uncommon Reader

“Not enough books focus on how a culture responds to radically new ideas or discovery. Especially in the biography genre, they tend to focus on all the sordid details in the life of the person who made the discovery. I find this path to be voyeuristic but not enlightening. Instead, I ask, After evolution was discovered, how did religion and society respond? After cities were electrified, how did daily life change? After the airplane could fly from one country to another, how did commerce or warfare change? After we walked on the Moon, how differently did we view Earth? My larger understanding of people, places and things derives primarily from stories surrounding questions such as those.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson

“... it's impossible to write the whole, true story of anything. We always leave things out. We quite often put things in. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try not to, we change things. We tell the story in our own way, which might not be the same way someone else would tell it.”
― Michael Rosen, Fantastic Mr. Dahl

“As a young child, I realized that if I presented myself as perfect—caring, generous, understanding, and compliant— then I could control how people felt about me. At all costs, I wanted to be loved!
I’d created a fantasy persona, but even now, I couldn’t recognize how far I had strayed from my self-imposed standard of perfection. I guess that’s what happens to a person when they receive too much praise. Was I as wonderful as everyone painted me? Or was I a skilled con artist? I had been riding the superiority- inferiority seesaw all weekend.
As I grappled with a carousel of gnawing thoughts, I drank my third shot of scotch and snorted some blow, all to crush any self-doubt.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“With a shooting pain to my head, I closed my eyes tight and envisioned the disgusted look on my mother’s face. The blueprint of the perfect child that Mom had so carefully crafted was incompatible with the lying, cheating, stealing man I had become; I felt worthless.
But I had a new master, one that controlled my body, mind, and soul.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“I thought, just tell this guy whatever he wants to hear. You only have fifteen days left of this twenty-eight-day sentence.
“I guess you’re going to get me clean and sober,” I said flippantly.
Exasperated, he said, “What would you do if you were me?” I cocked my head and said, “But I’m not you.”
He sat back in his leather chair, folded his hands on the desk, and leaned toward me. “You do know, Stephen, that the foundation of your life is built on addiction quicksand, and the more you struggle, the faster you’ll sink?”
I had to admit it; I had no witty comeback.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“Sam and I sat across from each other in silence for what seemed like forever until he finally spoke. “Deceit is an art form for most addicts. Lies close enough to the truth that they remain undetected—and lies so grandiose you’d never imagine a person could make them up—are the foundation of a house of cards. Pull out just one half-truth, and the whole thing collapses.
“You have become an expert at lying, Stephen.” I winced as my guilt hung around my neck like an albatross. Finally, in a voice that sounded small, weak, and strange even to me, I said, “I had a dream, you know. I’m in the middle of a monster-sized whirlwind, and I can see myself, hear myself screaming for help with one hand barely above the fray and—”
“Stephen,” Sam interrupted, “Only a fool stays put during a hurricane.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“It was like peeking behind the curtain only to discover the great and powerful Oz was an imposter. Child molesters, dressed in respectable Roman collars, had preyed on children for decades, leaving a wasteland of irreparably damaged souls.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“I, for one, was outraged at the accused who trampled the trust of a child. I would never watch a priest take a minor upstairs to his bedroom, not for any reason! Nor would I ever cover for him. My anger was directed at the bishops, too, for their abysmal response.
It was like we were living in a house that had rotted up to the rafters. Where would we begin to make repairs? Should we just knock it down and start again? Or should we simply move far, far away?”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“On September tenth, after a busy day at the parish, and without any forethought, I stopped at a liquor store before I headed upstate to the Villa. I wouldn’t allow myself to recognize the insanity of drinking a bottle of wine as I drove to a rehab facility.
I flashbacked to my father’s beer cans, in paper bags, between his legs as he drove. I was sure God was tapping on my shoulder, but I wasn’t responding. I coasted comfortably on autopilot, one of the most dangerous modes a human being can find themselves.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“Remorse hit me like a sledgehammer. I felt sick inside as I counted all the people I had let down. My brain quickly ran through several scenarios. Had I irreparably damaged my relationship with Charlie? Would Camilla finally abandon me? Would the Church blacklist me? In the court of public opinion, would I be considered a persona non grata?”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“There’s a certain mystique about a priest’s uniform; black slacks, black shirt, and Roman collar that evokes different responses from different people—sometimes reverence, other times disdain.
Being perceived as a pillar of the community can be a heady experience for a new priest, and one’s ego needs to be checked continually. The collar can also be an aphrodisiac for certain women, single or married, who are attracted to and flirt with the “unattainable” priest.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“When he returned from St. John Vianney, Charlie felt fully vindicated. “They couldn’t find one thing wrong with me, Stephen.”
All I could think was, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.” I knew in my heart; I could not even cast a pebble.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“Suddenly, there was no anger, no tears, or ultimatums. All that remained was the realization that the dream had withered and died. I guess that’s what happens to love when the expectations are too high, there are a plethora of insurmountable obstacles, and too much at stake. Even fairy tales have unexpected endings; not everyone lives happily ever after.
For years, I had been swimming in a sea of other people’s expectations.
Perhaps this breakup was the only way I could genuinely rediscover myself.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“For the faithful, death is not the end; it’s the bridge to the eternity promised to all believers; an eternal life with God in Heaven and the joy of being reunited with our loved ones who have gone before us.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“The old cliché, “There are no words,” is regarded by many as an empty platitude, but I beg to differ. Well-meaning people use the expression over and over because it’s true. We don’t have the language to describe the grief that comes in waves, swallows us up, and keeps us on our knees. There is no road map through grief: it takes time, patience, and love for the soul to heal and reemerge. A deep faith in God and the belief that, as promised, we will indeed see our loved ones again in heaven has kept many people anchored until such time as they can right the ship and find the joy in living again.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“It took me two relapses,” I shared one evening at an AA meeting, “but I had my last drink in 2002 after I stared down my fears. Some of you may have been dealt a bad hand in life in one way or another, but that doesn’t mean you can’t reshuffle the cards.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“I took a deep breath and willed myself to focus on the questions. “I don’t know. I like to rescue people, especially those in the throes of addiction. It’s like a derailed train; I swoop in like Superman and put the train back on the tracks. Is the train going to get to the next station? I don’t know, but at least it’s out of the ditch and upright before I walk away.”
― Stephen H. Donnelly, A Saint and a Sinner: The Rise and Fall of a Beloved Catholic Priest

“America needs to know this story because our Constitution is being attacked, our freedom threatened, innocent people are being framed and murdered, and the outlaw motorcycle club culture is on the verge of extinction.” – Jeff “Twitch” Burns, Patriot Gangster: Volume 1, Evolution of an Outlaw”
― Jeff "Twitch" Burns, Patriot Gangster: My Experience As One Of The Most Influential Outlaw Motorcycle Club Members In American History. Volume 2: The Enforcer

“[Phoebe] Eaton is a talented writer...”
― Gloria Steinem

“Extraordinario trabajo. Me congratula notificarle que obtuvo Premio Internacional de Periodismo...”
― Celeste Sáenz de Miera y Aguiar

“That was him," Paul has said of his own opportune discovery of Elvis Presley, "that was the guru we'd been waiting for. The Messiah had arrived.”
― Bob Spitz, The Beatles: The Biography