We need stories in order to understand ourselves, for good or bad, to be inspired or horrified, it's how we cope with being human and how we decide what type of person we will become.

… real life hardly ever unfolds the way we’d like it to, not like in a story.

There's something about physical labour that helps to chase away any lingering internal demons.

If you're going to make the past your present, be prepared for a lifetime of dust ...

Living on the water took away the boundaries created by land and custom and introversion. Without fences and driveways, the water provided a constant thread of connection and dependency.

What?

All three combined is...a different kind of stupid formerly unheard of by humankind.

It is dismal coming home, when there is nobody to welcome one!

Length of days with an evil heart is only length of misery.

It’s not a lie. It’s a gift for fiction.

I belonged to the generation that grew up under National Socialism, and was blinded and led astray - and allowed itself to be led astray.

Being nervous is a waste of time.

The only one who can beat me is me.

The old shepherd was right: The only solution was to forget a part of uncertainty and create a new history for oneself.

It's pretty much what a lot of committed Catholics are making of [Pope Francis]. They're thrilled, they're refreshed, they think it's a breath of fresh air.