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.

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

Her eyes were those of someone who's just fallen in love, someone who sees nothing but her lover, someone who has no fear of anything. The eyes of someone who believes that every dream will come true, that reality will move if you just give it a push.

Me, when I'm utterly exhausted by it all, when my skin breaks out, on those lonely evenings when I call my friends again and again and nobody's home, then I despise my own life - my birth, my upbringing, everything.

I felt how important the simplest things were, like feeling proud, finding something funny, stretching yourself, retreating into yourself.

With a cold"--she spoke evenly, lowering her eyes a little--"now is the hardest time. Maybe even harder than dying. But this is probably as bad as it can get. You might come to fear the next time you get a cold; it will be as bad as this, but if you just hold steady, it won't be. For the rest of your life. That's how it works. You could take the negative view and live in fear: Will it happen again? But it won't hurt so much if you just accept it as a part of life." With that she looked up at me, smiling.

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.