Ellen Hopkins Quotes

My mom's coping mechanism was to be strong and resilient. She is very compassionate and nonjudgmental.

I went to see Dad in hospital after he had gone through one particularly grueling operation. I walked into the room where he was recovering, and he was sitting up in a chair, wearing his shirt and tie. That was after eight hours of surgery. I found that so moving.

My dad said, 'The thing that I was told that was really helpful was that I mustn't be afraid of the things I was afraid of when I was five years old'. The shock of his childhood had put him in this defensive crouch against the world, and he needed to know that he had a nice wife and kids and it wasn't the same any more.

I maybe missed money in my childhood, but I didn't miss love, that's for sure. My dad wasn't there, but I can tell you not even once did I think I was missing something.

For the most part, having a strong family gets you through anything.

Thanks to the wonderful support system provided by my father, I was never insecure about my future.

What can we do?" Mom asked again. I shrugged. But she kept asking, as if there were something she could do, until I just kind of crawled across the couch into her lap and my dad came over and held my legs really tight and I wrapped my arms all the way around my mom's middle and they held on to me for hours while the tide rolled in.

I had what you could call a chaotic childhood. My parents divorced when I was 2; I went back and forth between my mom's and dad's houses for years. But, you know, my parents tried to do the right thing. As crazy as everything was, and as much fighting and everything, there was always a feeling of support from them.

I always say I lived my life with my grandmother. She was emotionally stable, and she was very encouraging to me.

For anyone who's been in care, successfully coming through the system is nothing to with money or success; it's the ability to feel love and be loved in return.

No matter what the situation you're in, if you're raised in a loving environment, that's the most important thing.

And having a strong family, you know we've lost some members of our family and had some setbacks, but I think a good family and kids all those things I thought at one time... you got to be kidding me... Those things are so important they enable you to go on.

I accredit animals for keeping me going when times were bad.

Music helped me to get out of a rough period in my life when I really struggled to see any future for myself and was terrified about what was happening to the people around me.

I was lucky to have my dad in my life. As crazy as things got, I always had him to put his hand on my shoulder.

Humor can help you cope with the unbearable so that you can stay on the bright side of things until the bright side actually comes along.

If you come from a solid family structure, it doesn't matter what you go through in your life. You're going to be okay.

My relationship with 'Pollyanna' is a very personal one, because Pollyanna got me through my childhood.

I had a brother who was my savior, made my childhood bearable.

Being on set with my dad - that's so cool. People always ask me if that made me nervous, but it's the same element when you're a kid - when your parents come in the auditorium for those school performances. It calms you.

My father died when I was nine, but I came from a stable family environment, which I think does contribute to being well-behaved.

When you're a kid, you're just not equipped to deal with some of the stuff that life brings you. It's why you have parents. And then, when you don't, there better be somebody who fills in that gap, or you're going to be rudderless for a while.

Life throws surprises, sorrows, sadness, and hardship, and I think that writing has actually grounded me. It kept me grounded when everything else was falling apart.

Having a sense of humor about yourself is a sign of mental health.

As hopeful as I am, there are some times in my life when I get to low points. Luckily, I still have music to get me through things.