If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.

...This fear was unbearable. It unwrapped who she was, as neatly as he'd unwound her bandage, leaving too much pain and ugliness exposed. Nerve endings; he'd said they were the problem [causing phantom pain in the amputated limb]." Things that cut off, that ended abruptly or died--like parents and marriages--kept hurting forever.

The heat made people crazy. They woke from their damp bedsheets and went in search of a glass of water, surprised to find that when their vision cleared, they were holding instead the gun they kept hidden in the bookcase.

It's not a date. I bought my own drink and I didn't shave my legs.

To make real friends you have to put yourself out there. Sometimes people will let you down, but you can't let that stop you. If you get hurt, you just pick yourself up, dust off your feelings, and try again.

One thing I can tell you for sure is this: we only regret what we don't do in life.

Thoughts - even fears - were airy things, formless until you made them solid with your voice and once given that weight, they could crush you.