My throat tightened, but I held back the tears and reminded myself that withdrawing from a woman is no different than kicking a drug; you feel shaky and you want it, but eventually the need passes, and you feel restored.

People blush when one of their core truths is revealed.

...the horrific fact that our lives and those of the people we love are impermanent and exquisitely fragile, that any of us can cease to exist without warning, that loving anyone, anywhere, at any time, leaves you infinitely vulnerable at every single moment. (20)

Maybe the trying is the thing. Maybe it doesn't get better than that. Maybe you never quite get there. And maybe that's okay.

When people can do something simple to avoid conflict--say, hit a button or unlock a latch--they'll generally do it.

The roots of any evil deed can be traced to the perpetrator's refusal to experience pain.

People react predictably, especially when they don't have time to think.