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

Mom always said people worried too much about their children. Suffering when you are young is good for you, she said. It immunized your body and your soul.

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

When someone's wounded, the first order of business is to stop the bleeding. You can figure out later how best to help them heal.

When I asked my mother, ‘how do I tell people about you’ her answer was ‘tell the truth’. But of course, the truth is never simple.

But no matter how much planning you do, one tiny miscalculation, one moment of distraction, can end it all in an instant.

Years from now, when all the junk they got is broken and long forgotten, you'll still have your stars.