“Hard work should be rewarded by good food.”

“He was nineteen years old, homeless and rootless, with no family and no purpose in life.”

“Having faith in God did not mean sitting back and doing nothing. It meant believing you would find success if you did your best honestly and energetically.”

“Aliena's brother, Richard, sometimes reminded her of her father, with a look or a gesture, and that was when she felt a surge of affection.”

“It pleased Aliena that they were all together: she and Jack and their children, and Jack's mother, and Aliena's brother, and Martha. It was quite like an ordinary family, and Aliena could almost fo...”

“... people always credit prime ministers with more brains than they've got.”

“I finally know the difference between pleasing and loving, obeying and respecting. It has taken me so many years to be okay with being different, and with being this alive, this intense. (xxvi)”

“Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.”

“Birthdays could be such a bummer when you were older than the country you lived in.”

“Babies are the buds of life ready to bloom like a fresh flower to refresh humanity.”

“Love can change a person the way a parent can change a baby- awkwardly, and often with a great deal of mess.”

“The only creatures that are evolved enough to convey pure love are dogs and infants.”