“It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover isn’t just a novel—it’s a raw, emotional gut-punch that’s captivated millions, from book clubs to the big screen with its 2024 film adaptation.
This story of love, abuse, and resilience delivers lines that linger long after the last page.
In this post, we’ve curated 50 of its most powerful quotes, complete with page numbers, and grouped them into themes like ‘Love and Pain,’ ‘Breaking Cycles,’ and ‘Atlas Corrigan’s Hope.’ Whether you’re revisiting Lily Bloom’s journey or discovering it anew, these quotes—and their context—offer inspiration, heartbreak, and hope.
50 Best It Ends With Us Quotes Organized by Theme
Note: Quotes are sourced from the Atria Books 2016 edition of “It Ends With Us” by Colleen Hoover unless otherwise specified.
In this section, we’ve gathered all 50 of the most striking quotes from It Ends With Us, grouped by the novel’s core themes. From the tangled beauty of love to the grit of breaking free, these lines reveal the heart of Colleen Hoover’s story. Each quote is paired with its character, chapter, and page number for easy reference.
Love and Pain
Love in It Ends With Us is both a lifeline and a source of deep hurt. These quotes explore the bittersweet reality of loving someone who can lift you up—or tear you down.
“You’re the most important part of my life, Lily. I want to be what brings you happiness. Not what causes you to hurt.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Ryle Kincaid), Chapter 14, Page 191
“Just because someone hurts you doesn’t mean you can simply stop loving them. It’s not a person’s actions that hurt the most. It’s the love. If there was no love attached to the action, the pain would be a little easier to bear.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 30, Page 321
“It’s not a person’s actions that hurt the most. It’s the love. If there was no love attached to the action, the pain would be a little easier to bear.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 30, Page 321
“love him. I still do and I always will. He was a huge wave that left a lot of imprints on my life, and I’ll feel the weight of that love until I die. I’ve accepted that.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 17, Page 218
“You are my wife. I’m supposed to be the one who protects you from the monsters. I’m not supposed to be one.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Ryle Kincaid), Chapter 20, Page 241
“You warned me. You said one time with you wouldn’t be enough. You said you were like a drug. But you failed to tell me you were the most addictive kind.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Ryle Kincaid), Chapter 9, Page 123
“Maybe love isn’t something that comes full circle. It just ebbs and flows, in and out, just like the people in our lives.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 17, Page 217
“I’m sure there’s more substance in the love between two adults than there is between two teenagers. There’s probably more maturity, more respect, more responsibility. But no matter how different the substance of a love might be at different ages in a person’s life, I know that love still has to weigh the same.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom from letter to Ellen), Chapter 17, Page 210
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Resilience
Lily’s strength shines through her ability to endure, often symbolized by the “just keep swimming” motif from her letters to Ellen. These quotes highlight her resilience—and that of those around her.
“When life gets you down do you wanna know what you’ve gotta do? . . . Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily in her letter to Ellen), Chapter 11, Page 131
This Finding Nemo nod becomes Lily’s lifeline, reflecting her determination to push through despair.
“I’ll keep pretending to swim, when really all I’m doing is floating. Barely keeping my head above water.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom from letter to Ellen), Chapter 17, Page 217
“Until he comes back for me, I’m just going to keep pretending to be okay. I’ll keep pretending to swim, when really all I’m doing is floating. Barely keeping my head above water.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom from letter to Ellen), Chapter 17, Page 217
“Atlas kept swimming, and look at him now. He swam all the way to the f**** Caribbean.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the Narrator about Atlas), Chapter 24, Page 274
“Lily, Atlas says just keep swimming. —Ellen DeGeneres”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: an autograph from Ellen DeGeneres to Lily), Chapter 16, Page 208
“All humans make mistakes. What determines a person’s character aren’t the mistakes we make. It’s how we take those mistakes and turn them into lessons rather than excuses.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 14, Page 192
“But sometimes you can’t control where your mind goes. You just have to train it not to go there anymore.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily in her letter to Ellen), Chapter 2, Page 37
Lily’s journal is a significant part of the plot. She pretends she’s writing to Ellen Degeneres about her personal experiences, but she keeps it to herself. She doesn’t consider the consequences if someone else reads her journal.
“I am a brave and bold businesswoman with zero f***s to give for men in scrubs.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 5, Page 75
Breaking Cycles
Breaking free from abuse is the novel’s emotional core. These quotes reflect the pain, courage, and determination it takes to disrupt destructive patterns, as seen through Lily and her mother.
“Cycles exist because they are excruciating to break. It takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep running in the same familiar circles, rather than facing the fear of jumping and possibly not landing on your feet.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 35, Page 360
“It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 35, Page 361
This pivotal line marks Lily’s will to break the cycle of abuse for her daughter, showcasing her strength and the novel’s core message.
“Cycles exist because they are excruciating to break. It takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep running in the same familiar circles, rather than facing the fear of jumping and possibly not landing on your feet. My mother went through it. I went through it. I’ll be damned if I allow my daughter to go through it. I kiss her on the forehead and make her a promise. ‘It stops here. With me and you. It ends with us.’”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom to Emerson), Chapter 35, Pages 360-61
“And as hard as this choice is, we break the pattern before the pattern breaks us.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 35, Page 360
“Every incident chips away at your limit. Every time you choose to stay, it makes the next time that much harder to leave. Eventually, you lose sight of your limit altogether, because you start to think, ‘I’ve lasted five years now. What’s five more?’”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Jenny Bloom), Chapter 32, Page 335
“We all have a limit. What we’re willing to put up with before we break. When I married your father, I knew exactly what my limit was. But slowly . . . with every incident . . . my limit was pushed a little more. And a little more. The first time your father hit me, he was immediately sorry. He swore it would never happen again. The second time he hit me, he was even more sorry. The third time it happened, it was more than a hit. It was a beating. And every single time, I took him back. But the fourth time, it was only a slap. And when that happened, I felt relieved. I remember thinking, ‘At least he didn’t beat me this time. This wasn’t so bad.’”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Jenny Bloom), Chapter 32, Page 335
“Shouldn’t there be more distaste in our mouths for the abusers than for those who continue to love the abusers?”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom in her letter to Ellen), Chapter 25, Page 283
“People spend so much time wondering why the women don’t leave. Where are all the people who wonder why the men are even abusive? Isn’t that where the only blame should be placed?”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 24, Page 274
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Atlas Corrigan’s Hope
Atlas Corrigan’s lines often carry hope and nostalgia, reflecting his role as Lily’s anchor—a steady presence offering solace and a vision of a better future.
“In the future… if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again… fall in love with me.” He presses his lips against my forehead. “You’re still my favorite person, Lily. Always will be.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Characters: Lily Bloom as the narrator and Atlas), Chapter 28, Pages 309-310
“You can stop swimming now, Lily. We finally reached the shore.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Atlas), Epilogue, Page 367
“He pulls back to look down at me and when he sees my tears, he brings his hands up to my cheeks. ‘In the future… if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again… fall in love with me.’”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator and Atlas Corrigan), Chapter 28, Pages 309-310
Here are all of the best Atlas Corrigan Quotes
Human Complexity
No character is wholly good or evil—these quotes delve into the messy, imperfect nature of humanity, where flaws and redemption blur the lines.
“There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Ryle Kincaid), Chapter 1, Page 17
Ryle’s early philosophy hints at his duality, setting up the tension between his charm and later violence.
“No one is exclusively bad, nor is anyone exclusively good. Some are just forced to work harder at suppressing the bad.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 1, Page 17
“I feel like everyone fakes who they really are, when deep down we’re all equal amounts of screwed up. Some of us are just better at hiding it than others.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 1, Page 16
“Naked truths aren’t always pretty.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom), Chapter 1, Page 16
“As his daughter, I loved him. But as a human, I hated him.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom), Chapter 1, Page 15
“It’s easy when we’re on the outside to believe that we would walk away without a second thought if a person mistreated us. It’s easy to say we couldn’t continue to love someone who mistreats us when we aren’t the ones feeling the love of that person. When you experience it firsthand, it isn’t so easy to hate the person who mistreats you when most of the time they’re your godsend.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends With Us, (Character: Lily as the narrator), Chapter 33, Page 341
Self-Discovery
Lily’s journey is also one of finding herself—her voice, her limits, and her worth. These quotes trace her path to understanding who she is beyond her relationships.
“I love it when the night sky makes me feel insignificant.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 1, Page 4
“My favorite conversations are the ones with no real answers.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 1, Page 16
“Fifteen seconds. That’s all it takes to completely change everything about a person. Fifteen.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom), Chapter 14, Page 186
This line underscores how quickly life pivots, a recurring motif in Lily’s transformative moments.
“That’s what fifteen minutes can do to a person. It can destroy them. It can save them.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily as the narrator), Chapter 35, Page 360
“Life is a funny thing. We only get so many years to live it, so we have to do everything we can to make sure those years are as full as they can be. We shouldn’t waste time on things that might happen someday, or maybe even never.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom from letter to Ellen), Chapter 17, Page 213
“I think that’s one of the biggest signs a person has matured—knowing how to appreciate things that matter to others, even if they don’t matter very much to you.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom in her letter to Ellen), Chapter 25, Page 280
Connection and Loss
Relationships—familial, romantic, or fleeting—shape Lily’s world. These quotes reflect the ebb and flow of connection, and the imprints left behind when ties shift or fade.
“Do you have any idea how many doors I’ve knocked on to find you?”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Ryle Kincaid), Chapter 5, Page 68
“I hope you defy the odds of most dreams and actually accomplish yours.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Ryle Kincaid), Chapter 1, Page 26
“Just because we didn’t end up on the same wave, doesn’t mean we aren’t still a part of the same ocean.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 17, Page 218
“Imagine all the people you meet in your life. There are so many. They come in like waves, trickling in and out with the tide. Some waves are much bigger and make more of an impact than others. Sometimes the waves bring with them things from deep in the bottom of the sea and they leave those things tossed onto the shore. Imprints against the grains of sand that prove the waves had once been there, long after the tide recedes. That was what Atlas was telling me when he said ‘I love you.’ He was letting me know that I was the biggest wave he’d ever come across. And I brought so much with me that my impressions would always be there, even when the tide rolled out.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom from letter to Ellen), Chapter 17, Page 214
“Mom: A doctor, Lily? AND your own business? I want to be you when I grow up.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Jenny Bloom (Lily’s mother)), Chapter 11, Page 159
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Forgiveness and Healing
Healing in It Ends With Us often means wrestling with forgiveness—of others and oneself. These quotes capture the struggle to move forward without letting go of the past.
“Everyone deserves another chance. Especially the people who mean the most to you.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 21, Page 248
“Preventing your heart from forgiving someone you love is actually a hell of a lot harder than simply forgiving them.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom in her letter to Ellen), Chapter 25, Page 283
“I’m sorry about that. I’m sure you didn’t miss me like I missed you, but sometimes the things that matter to you most are also the things that hurt you the most. And in order to get over that hurt, you have to sever all the extensions that keep you tethered to that pain. You were an extension of my pain, so I guess that’s what I was doing. I was just trying to save myself a little bit of agony.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom in her letter to Ellen), Chapter 25, Page 281
“You’re only human. And as humans, we can’t expect to shoulder all of our pain. Sometimes we have to share it with the people who love us so we don’t come crashing down from the weight of it all.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom), Chapter 20, Pages 243-44
“Sometimes even grown women need their mother’s comfort so we can just take a break from having to be strong all the time.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 32, Page 331
Truth and Confrontation
Facing harsh realities through words or actions drives the story’s tension. These quotes reveal moments of raw honesty and defiance.
“Yes. I kept the magnet Atlas gave me when we were kids. Yes. I kept the journals. No, I didn’t tell you about my tattoo. Yes, I probably should have. And yes, I still love him. And I’ll love him until I die, because he was a huge part of my life. And yes, I’m sure that hurts you. But none of that gave you the right to do what you did to me. Even if you would have walked into my bedroom and caught us in bed together, you still would not have the right to lay a hand on me, you goddamn son of a bitch!”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom to Ryle Kincaid), Chapter 30, Page 323
“Our eyes, locked together, speak more naked truths than our mouths ever have.”
~Colleen Hoover, It Ends with Us, (Character: Lily Bloom as the narrator), Chapter 30, Page 325
Further Reading:
It Ends With Us Qualities: List and Descriptions
Which quote resonates with you most? Share below or check out our 50 It Starts With Us Quotes for more!