Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

“In the space between yes and no, there’s a lifetime. It’s the difference between the path you walk and one you leave behind; it’s the gap between who you thought you could be and who you really are; it’s the legroom for the lies you’ll tell yourself in the future.”
– Chapter 3, pg. 20

“I knew exactly how she felt. When you’re different, sometimes you don’t see the millions of people who accept you for what you are. All you notice is the one person who doesn’t.”
– Chapter 6, pg. 41

“I don’t think religions are based on lies, but I don’t think they’re based on truths either. I think they come about because of what people need at the time that they need them.” – Chapter 14, pg. 94

“The Greeks and Romans, with all their gods, thought they were making sacrifices and praying at temples in order to receive favor from their deities; but with the passage of time, people consider this to be false. How do you know that 500 years from now, some alien master race won’t be picking over the artifacts of your Torah and their crucifix and wondering how you could be so naive?” – Chapter 14, pg. 94

“Death penalty cases are emotional minefields – you get to know the inmate, and you excuse some heinous crime with a lousy childhood or alcoholism or an emotional upheaval or drugs, until you see the victim’s family and a whole different level of suffering. And suddenly you start to feel a little ashamed of being in the defendant’s camp.” – Chapter 25, pg. 153

“This is what it always comes down to, I realized. There are the ones who believe, and the ones who don’t, and caught in the space between them are guns.” – Chapter 52, pg. 268

So those were some of my favorite book quotes from Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult.

How ironic. I had no clue this book was going to be about religion. There I was, warily reading along, just waiting for the part where I could snort with disgust and throw the thing aside. But instead, Picoult decides to whip out something I dislike even more than religion: Cellular memory. UGH, will

fiction writers never let this ridiculous concept die the painful death it so rightfully deserves?? ONE paper was published in a NON-peer-reviewed, NON-scientific journal (not to mention it was some whack job, short- lived “alternative therapy” journal), which suggested memories can be stored in all cells of the body (and not just the brain). This would allow organ donation recipients to “inherit” personality traits from their organ donors. Puh-lease! I’ll bet my right kidney we NEVER see the day a respectable, prominent medical or scientific journal publishes this crap. In my mind, cellular memory ranks right up there with the existence of God.