My brother believed in all sorts of mythical creatures: pixies, dragons, werewolves, honest men.

There's got to be a moment when that baby [flying] squirrel looks from the end of one branch to the tree six feet away and thinks twice about making a leap. Falling in love is no different; it's the moment that we close our eyes and throw away everything that seems reasonable and hope to God there's someone or something waiting to catch us on the other side.

What was the point of being able to forgive, when deep down, you both had to admit you'd never forget?

After a certain point, a heart with so many stress fractures can never be anything but broken.

And in general, the residents of the town wondered why they all felt hollow just beneath the throat, the result of missing something they had never been able to name in the first place.

Dead isn’t angels or ghosts. It’s a physical state of breakdown, a change in all those carbon atoms that create the temporary house of a body so that they can return to their most elemental stage.

remember that every fire will burn itself out, even without your help.