...[She] felt as if she were both a stranger to herself and more herself than she'd ever been.

...[She] felt as if she were both a stranger to herself and more herself than she'd ever been.

...it occurred to her how some people continued through no design of one's own to be in one's life while others might initially enter in a sort of blaze and seem to change everything but then might not stay around.

Hope is a terrible thing, she said. Is it? Yes, it keep you living in another place, a place which doesn't exist. For some people it's better than where they are. For many it's a relief. From life, she said. A relief from life? Is that living? Some people don't have a choice. No and that's awful for them. Hope is better than misery, he said. Or despair. Hope belongs in the same box as despair. Hope is not so bad, he said. At least despair has truth to it.

I would have fallen in love with you anywhere.

Boy poison - a boy's kisses were like a poison, which infected you and after you were exposed you craved more, like an addict.

I first travelled to Africa at the end of 1996 and was immediately captivated. I had planned on a three-week trip, and I ended up staying two months.