No power was total, no power permanent, no power absolute.

Maybe we don't have the same definition of about what's beautiful. So define it. Define true beauty.

There is real comfort in being quiet.

Inertia is so easy—don't fix what's not broken. Leave well enough alone. So we end up accepting what is broken, mistaking complaining for action, procrastinating for deliberation.

I wondered about her chicken-and-egg relationship with Dad. Which came first? Her helplessness or his controlling?

Hey, if it's a good philosophy, it works. Death is imminent. Live every day like it's your last.

Safe, I decided, didn't leave much room for fun.