Misfortune had made Lily supple instead of hardening her, and a pliable substance is less easy to break than a stiff one.

It was easy enough to despise the world, but decidedly difficult to find any other habitable region.

... even in houses commonly held to be 'booky' one finds, nine times out of ten, not a library but a book-dump.

The real alchemy consists in being able to turn gold back again into something else; and that's the secret that most of your friends have lost.

I discovered early that crying makes my nose red, and the knowledge has helped me through several painful episodes.

What's the use of making mysteries? It only makes people want to nose 'em out.

... how I understand that love of living, of being in this wonderful, astounding world even if one can look at it only through theprison bars of illness and suffering! Plus je vois, the more I am thrilled by the spectacle.