Grief seems at first to destroy not just all patterns, but also to destroy a belief that a pattern exists.

A pier is a disappointed bridge; yet stare at it for long enough and you can dream it to the other side of the Channel.

Books say: She did this because. Life says: She did this. Books are where things are explained to you; life is where things aren't. I'm not surprised some people prefer books.

The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.

The writer must be universal in sympathy and an outcast by nature: only then can he see clearly.

The land of embarrassment and breakfast.

When you read a great book, you don't escape from life, you plunge deeper into it.

History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation.

What is the easiest, the most comfortable thing for a writer to do? To congratulate the society in which he lives: to admire its biceps, applaud its progress, tease it endearingly about its follies.

Some of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s where we found the other person, and find them still.

The more you learn, the less you fear. "Learn" not in the sense of academic study, but in the practical understanding of life.

Let go of everything that you hold onto, which does not serve you anymore. Be light, walk faster.

…determined to enjoy her luxury of grief uncomforted.

Even if you don't believe in God, exploring fully the idea of a God or Gods should pose no threat to you.

Children - if you think back really what it was like to be a child and what it was like to know other children - children lie all the time

Focus your attention around the naval area, feel that spot. Visualize it. Do whatever it takes. When thoughts come in and out of your mind, pay no attention. You just stay right on that spot!

Sinead broke in. "The cops need to know what to do with Evan, Amy. What should I tell them?" "Shoot to kill?" Ian suggested.

Consistency is better than perfection. We can all be consistent-perf ection is impossible.

The most successful people in the world aren't usually the brightest. They are the ones who persevere.

I know he [Prince] is up there saying to me, "This is not the way I wanted it to happen, Stevie."