I made the wrong choice ," I whispered. My mother shook her head. "A child should never have to choose.

When I lacked even the self-respect to keep myself alive, she dabbed my cuts and I fell back into being a son; I fell as easily as you fall into your pillow at night. And I didn't want it to end. That's the best way I can explain it. I knew it was impossible. But I didn't want it to end.

For better or for worse, I've watched people die in front of me. I see how they are in the end. And they're not cynical. In the end, they wanna hold somebody's hand. And that's real to me.

Because when the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the same things: comfort, love, and a peaceful heart.

There is everything you know and there is everything that happens. When the two do not line up, you make a choice.

...the human spirit knows, deep down that all lives intersect.

Silence was his escape, but silence is rarely a refuge.