Peace ... was contingent upon a certain disposition of the soul a disposition to receive the gift that only detachment from self made possible.

Most of the basic truths of life sound absurd at first hearing.

The sun is still there... even if clouds drift over it. Once you have experienced the reality of sunshine you may weep, but you will never feel ice about your heart again.

She long ago accepted the fact that happiness is like, swallows in spring. It may come and nest under your eaves or it may not. You cannot command it.

All human beings have their otherness and it is that which cries out to the heart.

In a world where thrushes sing and willow trees are golden in the spring, boredom should have been included among the seven deadly sins.

The child in us is always there, you know, and it's the best part of us, the winged part that travels farthest.

Happy the man who lives long enough to acknowledge his ignorance

Not quite birds, as they were not quite flowers, mysterious and fascinating as are all indeterminate creatures.

He grinned at her, and she grinned at him, and it seemed to Maria that suddenly the sun came out.

Peace ... was contingent upon a certain disposition of the soul, a disposition to receive the gift that only detachment from self made possible.

When weakness becomes power, it leads you to success.

I thank God for schools that are serious about the gospel of Jesus Christ. They are vital to perpetuating our faith through your generation and beyond.

I write in my own journal when something extraordinary or funny happens. And there's some nice imagery in there. I don't think of what to do with it.

You know what a cubicle basically says? It basically says, like, 'You know what? We don't think you're smart enough for an office, but we don't want you to look at anybody.

I felt a kinship with country music, because country has lyrics that tell stories

When I do ties, I bid them out.

I see lots of women having beautiful children later in life. And, if not, just freeze your eggs!

I love Ireland. I'll always be 100pc Irish. I get really excited when I go to Sligo; it's my home.

You cannot fail, you can only produce results.

My next book - each one while I'm working on it - dances in my mind and thrills me at every turn. If it didn't, why would I write it?