- Charlie: My Mama had been the sun to me. I basked in her warmth. I remember wanting to wake up in the morning just to see her. But now that sun was on fire, seemed to burn everything in sight. If I got too close, my skin stung. But Mr. Church, he could walk right through her blaze without so much as a singe. He was like the moon. Cool, calm, and always there. So I learned to turn away from the sun, and face the moon.
- Marie: Charlie, Charlie wait. I am angry, too. You give birth to this tiny innocent little thing and you think, 'My God... , Oh my God, help me protect her.' And that is what you spend every waking moment doing. And then one day you wake up and you've got cancer. And you realize, my God, oh my God, what she will need the most protection from is your own life slipping away from her. But you love her so much. And you just want to smother her with love, and hugs, and words. With every moment you've got left.
- Charlie: People act strange around death. There are those who talk about everything... but the person who died. Those who talk about only the person who died. Those who try to cheer you up. And those who can't help but make you cry. And then there are those who say nothing at all. Because they don't have to
- Charlie: It's an awful feeling to love someone so much... that you absolutely hate them for leaving you. Even before they've gone.
- [first lines]
- Charlie: [narrating] Henry Joseph Church could have been anything he wanted to be. He chose to cook. The key, he said? Jazz.
- Marie: You know, holding those babies, it always makes me think of the first time I held you.
- Young Charlie: Even if I was an accident.
- Marie: Why on Earth would you say that? Your daddy was the accident. You, you're my miracle.