“Sometimes it's easy to lose faith in people. And sometimes one act of kindness is all it takes to give you hope again.”

“Life isnt like the movies. People dont change overnight. people dont go from arrogant and self-righteous to ashamed and remorseful. They dont suddenly give in when theyve spent years taking out. No...”

“Whats the good of being true to your religion on the outside, if you dont change whats on the inside,were it really counts ?”

“I want to be with one person in my life. I want to know that the guy I spend the rest of my life with is the first person I share something so intimate and exciting with.”

“Your perception is riveting, Amal," he says in a bored and sarcastic tone, dropping the note down on my desk. "It's comforting to know that there are people in my class who have the maturity and in...”

“I just don't know what I'd do without a brain, Simone!" I say. "I mean, what's a person without one?”

“Anna thought about the men outside on the gallery. She was glad they were there; finding them smoking and talking quietly had been comforting, it was what men did in the evenings when the work was ...”

“Her arms groped forward to guide her when her tears blocked her vision in darkness. Then she couldn't run any more. She sank to her knees and began to cry in her terror. She wanted Gary.She suddenl...”

“Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast,Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round,And, while the bubbling and loud hissing urnThrows up a steamy column and the cupsThat cheer but not inebr...”

“By making yourself a life-long leaner youll keep discovering new and exciting things about yourself and others.”

“The next time you feel really good, just keep feeling that way for the rest of your life.”

“People say everybody has a book inside them, so why not make your life a great story?”

“When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for t...”

“You know Balbec so well - do you have friends in the area?'I have friends wherever there are companies of trees, wounded but not vanquished, which huddle together with touching obstinacy to implore...”

“Things that matter are not easy. Feelings of happiness are easy. Happiness is not. Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying youre friends is easy. Being friends is not.”