It was psychological trick called empathic listening. You say what the person is feeling so they feel understood.

The real heroes anyway aren't the people doing things; the real heroes are the people NOTICING things, paying attention.

Life works best when we think of people as people.

We kiss. Her hands are freezing on my face, and she tastes like coffee and the smell of the onion is still stuck in my nose, and my lips are all dry from the endless winter. And it's awesome.

People will say it's sad that she leaves a lesser scar, that fewer remember her, that she was loved deeply but not widely. But it's not sad, Van Houten. It's triumphant. It's heroic. Isn't that the real heroism? Like the doctors say: First, do no harm.

Stupid truth, always resisting simplicity

I think maybe I know why,' she finally said. 'Why?' 'Maybe all the strings inside him broke,' she said.