Top 35 Heather Gudenkauf Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “I realize then, what my mother already knows – has known for a long time. Motherhood is a procession of goodbyes. Some bittersweet and filled with promise and hope, some gradual, a gentle prying away of your fingers from something precious, some more violent, unexpected.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

2. “You have to look for the little mercies, the small kindnesses and good that come from the terrible.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

3. “But you know all about that, being sorry and having no words to say something when you know you should but you just can’t.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

4. “We’re always one breath away from something, living or dying, sometimes it just can’t be helped.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

5. “Sleeping in Eden is intense and absorbing from the very first page. Written in lovely prose, two seemingly different storylines collide in a shocking conclusion.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

6. “The sturgeon moon hung fat and low and bee pollen yellow. Or was it called a buck moon? The sheriff couldn’t remember.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

7. “You beat my brother, strangled him, and hid his body in the barn. You tried to frame him and you kidnapped my best friend. You shot me. Why? I don’t understand.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

8. “But under the surface, beneath my skin, it was like my blood was boiling. I couldn’t sit still, I could never rest.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

9. “Wylie stared down at the woman’s battered face. One mistrustful brown eye looked back at her. Wylie looked down at her own hand, where a matching horseshoe-shaped scar, though less pronounced, marred her palm.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

10. “Homes were supposed to be safe havens, meant to protect. It was supposed to be a shelter from the elements, a fortress to keep out evil, and her home had betrayed Josie in the worst possible way.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

11. “It wasn’t your fault,” Becky said. “It was Randy Cutter’s fault – his alone. Let go of it,” Becky begged. “I never blamed you, not even once, so please stop blaming yourself.” Becky took Wylie’s hand in her own. “Sisters forever, right?” “Sisters forever,” Wylie whispered.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

12. “One woman reported that Henley, along with a group of other male soldiers, mentally and sexually harassed her to the point of a near breakdown. Another woman accused him of false imprisonment after he purportedly refused to let her leave after the two spent a night together.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

13. “Finally, the woman spoke. “I’d forgotten what you looked like. I mean, if I closed my eyes really tight, I’d get little flashes.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

14. “The feud, if that was what you could call it, lasted for years and bled into their day-to-day lives. There were fences that William Doyle was sure Randy Cutter had damaged and calls to the sheriff about wayward cattle. And there was Ethan’s friendship with Randy’s son, Brock. That didn’t sit well with either family.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

15. “If he had run the license plate, he would have seen that Brock Cutter had a suspended license and a bench warrant for a failure to appear for a court date related to a harassment case over in Kossuth County. He would have learned that Brock Cutter wasn’t as innocent and good-natured as his cousin, Brett.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

16. “Her father would come soon, and what would he do when he saw the mess? He’d be angry. He’d swear and yell and then hurt her mother, who lay in the bed too weak to move, too sad to eat or drink. She wouldn’t be able to take it.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

17. “Jackson Henley did not like to follow orders, liked to drink, and to harass his female soldier counterparts.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

18. “His shadow crawled across the wall. He was getting closer. “Come on,” he called out. “Did you really think I would let you leave? You know better than that. You belong to me.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

19. “Brock and Ethan are not friends,” Deb said sourly. “We told those two boys to stay away from each other. Nothing good ever came out of those two boys being in the same space with one another.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

20. “Libraries, no matter what state or city Wylie visited, had the same comforting smell, and the Spirit Lake Public Library in Iowa was no different. The books, paper, glue, and ink – all in various stages of disintegration – had a musty, vanilla-like scent that eased her anxiety.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

21. “After seeing the medical examiner pull into the Doyles’ drive, Margo nearly passed out. She had never felt such fear before in her life. It was as if someone had reached right down her throat and snatched her breath away.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

22. “Two teenagers missing along with a truck. Parents dead, sister shot. Butler pulled Levi aside, out of earshot, his mouth set in a grim line. “Put out a BOLO for Ethan Doyle’s truck.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

23. “She never wanted to set foot on this farm again. Her family’s blood now coursed through its soil. She imagined the corn and alfalfa rising from the earth stunted and black with rot.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

24. “Maybe Becky had left willingly with Ethan. Young love gone rogue? Another Bonnie and Clyde or Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate? Star-crossed lovers who went on deadly crime sprees. Santos had a few more questions for Margo and Kevin Allen.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

25. “You’re sick,” Wylie said with disgust. “Evil and sick. And now you plan on killing us all. Finish what you started.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

26. “She and Agent Randolph were staying at the Burden Inn, a low-rise motor lodge that was as grim as its name. It was clean at least.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

27. “It isn’t the dark you should be afraid of, the girl thought, it’s the monsters who step out into the light that you need to fear.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

28. “The last seven days had been quiet. Too quiet. There were no burglaries, no serious motor vehicle accidents, no meth explosions, not one report of domestic abuse. Not that Blake County was a hotbed of lawlessness.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

29. “It’s not going to be easy,” she says, looking up at me. “it’s probably going to get a lot harder before it gets easier. No one can change what you did or what has happened in the past.” I lower my head and start to cry again. “But-” she says so sharply that I have to look up at her again. “But you do have control over who you are no and how you carry yourself. Do you understand?”

— Heather Gudenkauf

30. “But even on the days he brought treats and touched the girl’s hair and told her she was pretty, he was quicker to slap and push and pinch.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

31. “Yes, Jackson Henley. There just wasn’t enough evidence to arrest him for killing my family and your disappearance. They couldn’t find the gun he used or my brother’s missing truck. They couldn’t find you. But don’t worry. He’s caught now. I locked him in the toolshed. He’ll never hurt you again.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

32. “Randy Cutter was quite angry with my daughter and her husband over a parcel of land,” Caroline explained. “It got pretty ugly at the time. William bought a piece of farmland that Randy thought should have gone to him. It came to blows, lawyers got involved. When several of their livestock were found dead, William was sure Randy Cutter had something to do with it.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

33. “No,” Becky shook her head. “You need to listen to me. It’s Randy Cutter.” She looked at Wylie, terror in her eyes. “He’s outside right now. I know him. I know his voice, dammit, I’ve heard it nearly every day for the last twenty years.” Wylie stared at Becky and then looked to the little girl for confirmation. She nodded. “Jesus,” Wylie breathed. Randy Cutter? It didn’t make any sense.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

34. “Her seventeen-year-old son had become a stranger to her. Her sweet boy had always had a wild streak, which had turned mean. He’d be up to no good, she was sure of that. Brock was born when they were barely eighteen and barely knew how to take care of themselves, let alone an infant.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

35. “What I know is you have had a serious lack of judgment lately,” Lynne said. “Kara, driving on the baseball field...”

— Heather Gudenkauf

36. “Her grandparents tried to create a new life for her, but her past haunted her no matter where she went. She was always Josie Doyle – the girl whose family was murdered, whose best friend vanished without a trace.”

— Heather Gudenkauf

37. “He told me she was dead. He told me that you were all dead – your family, your dog – and it was all my fault. But I snuck out of the basement and I called home. And she answered. My mother. She wasn’t dead. But I couldn’t say anything. I just hung up.” Her mother wiped at her eyes. “But your parents? Your brother?”

— Heather Gudenkauf

38. “She’s only thirteen,” Margo said plaintively. “Why would he be interested in a thirteen-year-old? She’s just a baby,” Margo said, her face pale and desperate with grief.”

— Heather Gudenkauf