Life, not death, is the great mystery you must confront.

I'm pretty good at compartmentalizing things and not allowing things outside of myself to distract me or bother me or affect me in any way.

You should at all times be showing a well-motivated character overcoming obstacles in pursuit of a goal.

For the most profound experiences in our lives and in the world words are worth nothing. Can you describe love Or death Can you describe what it really feels like the first time you see your child Or the first time your heart gets broken You can try...but it won't come close to describing what it really was or what it really felt like.

Fear, he said, ran all of our lives. Fear, he said, after religion, was the most destructive force in the world.

She is sitting on frozen ground wrapped in a blanket, her pale skin shining. She smiles and she stands and without words, she steps forward, opens the blanket, envelops me within it and within her and within myself. She kisses my cheek, the one not torn, she wraps me and she holds me. Her arms are thin but strong. She whispers in my ear, "I'm glad you're here.

One of the beautiful and terrible things about America is you can go there and still be whatever you want, if you bust your ass and you have some luck.