I am her tribute. Survival is my gift to her.

When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope.

Never lose faith in yourself, and never lose hope; remember, even when this world throws its worst and then turns its back, there is still always hope.

That’s the worst way to miss somebody. When they’re right beside you and you miss them anyway.

Life is but a fine wine to be sipped and favored.

One of the gifts our planet gave us is to love completely. Without jealousy or insecurity or fear. Without pettiness. Without anger.

The key to change is letting go of the fear.

A wise man once told me that only by leaving someone good can you meet someone better.

He who doesn't understand history is doomed to repeat it.

If you ever know a man who tries to drown his sorrows, kindly inform him his sorrows know how to swim.

A place is only as good as the people in it.

Those who care about me will forget me but, those who love me will never let go of me.

My father and I had a really good relationship. We're cool. I am not trying to outdo him or anything like that.

Empiricist philosophy always tends to be anti-philosophy (and is often proud of it).

You don't have to give up to let go

The historian will tell you what happened. The novelist will tell you what it felt like.

So much as I enjoy big novels of epic sweep, I often find, say, if they follow several generations, by the third generation, I'm not caring about the people anymore.

War is not its own end, except in some catastrophic slide into absolute damnation. It's peace that's wanted. Some better peace than the one you started with.

I am working here (in Amsterdam) on my last big triptych, which will be a tremendous story, and which gives me a more intense life and exhilaration. My God, life is worth living!

The road to hell is paved with works-in-progress.

I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that's how I operate my life.