Teaching is a calling too. And I've always thought that teachers in their way are holy - angels leading their flocks out of the darkness.

When God closes a door, he opens a window, but it's up to you to find it.

Don't be afraid of your dark places. ... If you can shine a light on them, you'll find treasure there.

sometimes after I finished a particularly good book, I had the urge to get the library card, find out who else had read the book, and track them down to talk about it

No one expected you to amount to much," she told me. "Lori was the smart one, Maureen the pretty one, and Brian the brave one. You never had much going for you except that you always worked hard.

Too much hard luck can create a permanent meanness of spirit in any creature.

Dad was a philosopher and had what he called his Theory of Purpose, which held that everything in life had a purpose, and unless it achieved that purpose, it was just taking up space on the planet and wasting everybody's time.