Seeing something once is better than hearing about it a hundred times. Doing something once is better than seeing it a hundred times.

When the sun is shining, think of the time it won't be, because even when you're sitting in your house with the doors shut, misfortune can fall from above. Page 279

He was in my hair, my eyes, my fingers, my heart. I day-dreamed about what he was doing, thinking, seeing, smelling, feeling. I could not eat for thoughts of him.

And one of the interesting things about bound feet is that they never age.

Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming -- weren't our dreams what gave us strength, hope, and desire?

If it is perfectly acceptable for a widow to disfigure herself or commit suicide to save face for her husband's family, why should a mother not be moved to extreme action by the loss of a child or children? We are their caretakers. We love them. We nurse them when they are sick. . . But no woman should live longer than her children. It is against the law of nature. If she does, why wouldn't she wish to leap from a cliff, hang from a branch, or swallow lye?

My hardcover sales are 17% down in books but up 400% in electronics.