“In books and movies, all the loose ends are tired, things are resolved, mysteries are solved, they catch the killer, the boy gets the girl, a sick baby is miraculously healed. In reality it doesn't...”

“It felt great to be loved. Children... Children are a hazard to your life... As they'd got older they had become more expensive. But it was worth it. If she didn't have her children her life would ...”

“Your kids never really leave do they? They might live elsewhere, sometimes not even on the same continent, but Mum is always first port of call when there's trouble. Parenting is a lifetime commitm...”

“Nothing is as it seems, but something is everything it is made out to be.”

“Without feelings of respect, what is there to distinguish men from beasts?”

“You'd be surprised how easy some things can be, things you never thought you'd do, when you take self-respect out of the equation.”

“There is a light within our soul that burns brighter than the sun. And we ignore it.”

“It's not much. You begin by thinking there is something extraordinary about it. But you'll find out, when you've been out in the world a while longer, unhappiness is the commonest thing there is.”

“A man can gasp out his life beside you-and you feel none of it. Pity, Sympathy, sure-but you don't feel the pain. Your belly is whole and that's what counts. A half-yard away someone's world is snu...”