I work three days at home, and two days in the British Library or the London Library, just to get out of the house and hide from the children.

And of course there is always joy in witnessing the joy of others

I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference,’ she siad. ‘You know, actually change something.’ ‘What, like “change the world”, you mean?’ ‘Not the whole entire world. Just the little bit around you.

Failure and unhappiness is easier because you can make a joke out of it.

Letters, like compilation tapes, were really vehicles for unexpressed emotions and she was clearly putting far too much time and energy into them.

I'm not the consolation prize, Dex. I'm not something you resort to. I happen to think I'm worth more than that.

Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today; and I'll always remember it