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

Unlike diamonds, watches were practical. They were for people on the run, people with appointments to keep and schedules to meet.

Everything in life is gray, you know.

Horses are a mirror of who you are. They're emotionally dependent on you.

...even though I was getting better education at home than any of the kids in Toyah, I'd need to go to finishing school when I was thirteen, both to acquire social graces and to earn a diploma. Because in this world, Dad said, it's not enough to have a fine education. You need a piece of paper to prove you go it.

Mom also hinted a couple of times that it was good I was going to college, since with one failed marriage behind me, I 'd have trouble landing a good husband and would need something to fall back on. "A package that's been opened once doesn't have the same appeal".

[Optimism] acts as a self-fulfilling prophecy.