“What if the kid you bullied at school, grew up, and turned out to be the only surgeon who could save your life?”

“We never know the journey another person has walked, so be kind to everyone.”

“When a character comes to life, it’s like meeting a new friend for the first time.”

“But all I could see was her. No skill of mine, no artist anywhere, couldve immortalized how gorgeous she was. It was impossible to believe shed ever had any doubts about her body. The firelight sho...”

“Look, I'm not going to have sex with him just so he'll say that he loves me, you know?"...That isn't why I was planning to have sex with Rob - to hear the words, I mean. I just wanted to get it ove...”

“Why did it have to be such a shameful secret? Hadnt I been potty-trained and taught to chew with my mouth closed? So what was the freaking big deal about having sex? Wasnt it essential to the survi...”

“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.”

“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.”

“If I am going to be drownedif I am going to be drownedif I am going to be drowned, why, in the name of the seven mad gods who rule the sea, was I allowed to come thus far and contemplate sand and t...”

“I'm an Earth ecstatic, and my creed is simple: All life is sacred, life loves life, and we are capable of improving our behavior toward one another. As basic as that is, for me it's also tonic and ...”