“Her name had the likeness of a name. She had the likeness of a woman, with hands but no face at all, since she never let herself see it. She had the likeness of a life, because she was all alone in...”

“He looked up at her. Kindness was something he didn't even know he wanted, and here it was.”

“The best things that happen I'd never have thought to pray for. In a million years. The worst things just come like the weather.”

“She knew better than to waste that time. There isn't always someone who wants you singing to him or nibbling his ear or brushing his cheek with a dandelion blossom. Somebody who knows when you're b...”

“In that eternity of his, where everybody will be happy, how could he feel the lack of her, the loss of her?”

“If you thought dead was just dead, then you wouldn't have to worry about any of this.”

“Some people don't understand the promises they're making when they make them," I said."Right, of course. But you keep the promise anyway. That's what love is. Love is keeping the promise anyway.”

“I think if I've learned anything about friendship, it's to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don't walk away, don't be distracted, don't be too busy or tired, don...”

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

“There is no competition in work. Whoever loves to labour does so as grace of life.”

“...whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. And peace will be with you.”

“If perception is limited to experience and knowledge, what proof do we have of moral judgement?”

“We are on strike, we, the men of the mind.We are on strike against self-immolation. We are on strike against the creed of unearned rewards and unrewarded duties. We are on strike against the dogma ...”

“If only it were possible to love without injury fidelity isnt enough: I had been faithful to Anne and yet I had injured her. The hurt is in the act of possession: we are too small in mind and body...”

“She looks at the swings, and I can see shes imagining what theyd look like if the kids werent there. The guilt of this holds her down momentarily. It appears to be there constantly. Never far away,...”