Everything in life has some good in it. And when something awful happens, the goodness stands out even more--it's sad, but that's the truth.

This is what it means to be loved... when someone wants to touch you, to be tender.

Although I was raised with love, I was always lonely.

Things look different depending on your perspective. As I see it, fighting to bridge those gaps isn't what really matters. The most important thing is to know them inside and out, as differences, and to understand why certain people are the way they are.

Nothing exists in this world but me and my bed…” (p. 141).

She was still there inside me now, just as she always was: a life put on hold, a memory I didn't know how to handle.

Here in this ocean, in the midst of all this water, with the red flags on those distant buoys flapping in the sea breeze, I find myself unable to treat our house in Tokyo as anything but a dream.