The world is dark, and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story.

Things are not at all what they seem to be: oh no, not at all.

I think of myself as an enormously lucky person.

There's a Buddhist precept that the only thing you deserve is the chance to do the work, and I've been given the chance to do the work.

Open your heart. Someone will come. Someone will come for you. But first you must open your heart. (Old Doll)

Miracles and magic pervade the things that I've written, but yet there are no miracles and there is no magic.

But still, here are the words Despereaux Tilling spoke to his father. He said, "I forgive you, Pa!" And he said those words because he sensed that it was the only way to save his heart, to stop it from breaking in two. Despereaux, reader, spoke those words to save himself.