Bedtime rituals for children ease the way to the elsewhere of slumber - teeth brushing and pajamas, the voice of a parent reading, the feel and smell of the old blanket or toy, the nightlight glowing in a corner.

A book is a collaboration between the one who reads and what is read and, at its best, that coming together is a love story like any other.

Every sickness has an alien quality, a feeling of invasion and loss of control that is evident in the language we use about it.

That night as I lay in bed, I thought of several things I could have said and mourned the fact that my wit usually bloomed late, peaking when it no longer mattered, during the solitary hours close to midnight.

I've always thought of wholeness and integration as necessary myths. We're gragmented beings who cement ourselves together, but there are always cracks. Living with the cracks is part of being, well, reasonably healthy.

Every painting is always two paintings: The one you see, and the one you remember.

Widowers marry again because it makes their lives easier. Widows often don't, because it makes their lives harder. [p. 61]