This time, there was no escape, I could not turn away, could not leave without accepting what I had done. There was only one way to the other side, and that was through the pain.

Anyone can grow into something beautiful.

There was only one way to the other side, and that was through the pain.

The open forgiveness in her eyes, the uncensored love, terrified me.

Nothing you could do would make me send you away. Nothing.

Hyacinth. Please forgive me.

Over time, we would learn each other, and I would learn to love her like a mother loves a daughter, imperfectly and without roots.

I would keep her, and raise her, and love her, even if she had to teach me how to do it.

Now, as an adult, my hopes for the future were simple: I wanted to be alone, and to be surrounded by flowers. It seemed, finally, that I might get exactly what I wanted.

Life is both beautiful and painful. In whatever situation we find ourselves in, no matter how unfortunate it may seem, there is always something to be thankful for – if we only choose to see it.

The head is always the dupe of the heart.

We had so much fun together as friends that I suggested we [with Kate DiCamillo] write a book together.

SkyClan's destiny is that we will never live in isolation from other cats. We're not like forest Clans, we can't shut ourselves off entirely from kittypets or rogues. And visitors will be welcome.

I believe that justices must recognize that our Constitution is an 18th-century document that needs to be applied in the context of the 21st century.

I never took classic business classes in college, so I don't have the background that any of the people running large companies have.

Tyson is a lot better than I thought, a lot better. People can talk about Spinks all they want... Tyson is the true champion.

You only get to be a victim once. After that, you're a volunteer.

Remember, we are all one country now. Dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, and bring them up to be Americans.

I once absent-mindedly ordered Three Mile Island dressing in a restaurant and, with great presence of mind, they brought Thousand Island Dressing and a bottle of chili sauce.