Trust was accumulated quickly, due primarily to the brute strength of the man's gentleness, his thereness. (p.36)

A snowball in the face is surely the perfect beginning to a lasting friendship.

Imagine smiling after a slap in the face. Then think of doing it twenty-four hours a day.

If only she could be so oblivious again, to feel such love without knowing it, mistaking it for laughter.

Often I wish this would all be over, Liesel, but then somehow you do something like walk down the basement steps with a snowman in your hands.

I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.

I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sand castles, houses of cards, that's where they begin. Their great skills is their capacity to escalate.

No matter how many times she was told that she was loved, there was no recognition that the proof was in the abandonment.

It was the beginning of the greatest Christmas ever. Little food. No presents. But there was a snowman in their basement.

As always, one of her books was next to her.

If you can't imagine it, think clumsy silence. Think bits and pieces of floating despair. And drowning in a train.

Life is so beautiful that death has fallen in love with it, a jealous possessive love that grabs at what it can.

To continue holding on to your grudges is to keep feeding your pain.

I think you'll be a great teacher, " said Gary. That's his role in my life: blind encourager and ambassador of false senses of security.

There must be something unfolded! when you speak on behalf of someone!

The best way to judge the worth of a person’s wealth is to count the number of genuine people he has got in his network.

Dying is a part of living, but only a very small part.

The world is proof that God is a committee.

Women do generally manage to love the guys they marry more than they manage to marry the guys they love.

The spiritual process has always been referred to as a journey - constant change.

The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition.