Don't make your own life your project in your own life: total waste of time.

But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the best revenge was to turn your life into a small gathering of miracles. If I could not be anchored and profound, I would try, at least, to be kind.

It was not miserable - often I did not miss her at all. But there was sometimes a quick, sinking ache when I walked in the door and saw she was not there. Twice, however, I'd felt the same sinking feeling when she was.

Love is a fever," she said. "And when you come out of it you'll discover whether you've been lucky - or not.

Those are the love killers. They love you and then they kill you. They're from another planet. Supposedly.

As the most recently arrived to earthly life, children can seem in lingering possession of some heavenly lidless eye.

Surely that was why faith had been invented: to raise teenagers without dying. Although of course it was also why death was invented: to escape teenagers altogether.