Nicholas Sparks is best known for his incredible love stories — The Notebook, Dear John, The Longest Ride, all amazing, all written by him. Granted, I must admit, I’m a sucker for a good romance novel.

But it isn’t just the romance or the passion that draws me to his stories. It’s love.

Love is a huge part of our lives, in every sense. We love our significant others, our families, our friends, and some are even fortunate enough to love their jobs. even our love between friends. Love is the glue that binds us and holds our lives together.

Then it’s no surprise that writing about love, and the triumphs and tragedies that it brings into our life, leads him to write some of the truest words about life itself — that somehow, connect to our souls. 

Sparks has many memorable lines, like when Noah tells Allie that he wants all of her every day in the famous The Notebook scene, but what about some of his less famous lines, like the ones about life itself? The ones that speak such truth about what people go through on a regular basis, the trials, and tribulations, the ups and downs of this magnificent journey we call life.

It seems as if anyone can relate to Nicholas Sparks quotes, at least at some point in their life.

1. “People will tell you most of the story… and I’ve learned that the part they neglect to tell you is often the most important part. People hide the truth because they’re afraid.”
– Safe Haven

2. “Don’t take my advice. Or anyone’s advice. Trust yourself. For good or for bad, happy or unhappy, it’s your life, and what you do with it has always been entirely up to you.”
– The Best of Me

3. “When you chase a dream, you learn about yourself. You learn your capabilities and limitations, and the value of hard work and persistence.”
– Three Weeks With My Brother

4. “In the blink of an eye, something happens by chance – when you least expect it – sets you on a course that you never planned, into a future you never imagined.”
– The Lucky One

5. “I’m not sure anyone’s life turns out exactly the way they imagine. All we can do is to try to make the best of it. Even when it seems impossible.”
– Safe Haven

6. “There are moments when mental overload can render words impossible.”
– The Choice

7. “People want pretty much the same things. They wanted to be happy. Most young people seemed to think that those things lay somewhere in the future, while most older people believed they lay in the past.”
– Nights in Rodanthe

8. What happens in the past, is in the past. But don’t be surprised if it comes back and haunts you.”
– The Last Song

9. “You’re going to come across people in your life who will say all the right words at all the right times. But in the end, it’s always their actions you should judge them by. It’s actions, not words, that matter.”
– The Rescue

10. “When you’re struggling with something, look at all the people around you and realize that every single person you see is struggling with something, and to them, it’s just as hard as what you’re going through.”
– Dear John

11. “Nothing that’s worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that.”
– Message in a Bottle

12. “Life was messy. Always had been and always would be and that was just the way it was, so why bother complaining? You either did something about it or you didn’t, and then you lived with the choice you made.”
– The Best of Me

13. “He often felt that too many people lived their lives acting and pretending, wearing masks and losing themselves in the process.”
– The Choice

14. “Silence is pure and holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking.”
– The Notebook

15. “It was just a normal day, a day like any other. But most of all it was a day in which everything was exactly the way it should be.”
– The Choice

16. “I have faith that God will show you the answer. But you have to understand that sometimes it takes a while to be able to recognize what God wants you to do. That’s how it often is. God’s voice is usually nothing more than a whisper, and you have to listen very carefully to hear it. But other times, in those rarest of moments, the answer is obvious and rings as loud as a church bell.”
– The Last Song

17. “Dreams are always crushing when they don’t come true. But it’s the simple dreams that are often the most painful because they seem so personal, so reasonable, so attainable. You’re always close enough to touch, but never quite close enough to hold and it’s enough to break your heart.”
– Three Weeks With My Brother

18. “Things changed, people changed, and the world went rolling along right outside the window.”
– Message in a Bottle

19. “I’ve learned that we’re all entitled to have our secrets.”
– The Notebook

20. “Maybe I don’t want to be defined by what I do. Maybe I’d like to be defined by what I am.”
– Safe Haven