The things we worry about the most are never the things that bite us. The sharpest teeth always take their nip of us when we are looking the other way.

The broom wasn't as comforting as a flamethrower would have been, but it was better than a mop and certainly more threatening than a feather duster.

Time doesn’t, as advertised, heal all wounds. Although the wrenching immediacy of grief eventually passed, the settled sorrow that replaced it might in its own way be even more intense.

She was fascinated with words. To her, words were things of beauty, each like a magical powder or potion that could be combined with other words to create powerful spells.

less real than such threats as a man with a gun, a woman with a knife, or a U.S. Senator with an idea.

All I asked was that I be spared surprises, although, in this world of six billion souls, all acting with free will and too many with audacity, surprises are inevitable, too few of them are the kind that make you smile and that lift your heart.

We may lack riches, but the greatest fortune is what lies in our hearts.