"Miss Dawn's arms were like the branches of the tree that grew up in the middle of her home -- strong and sinewy, ancient and elegant..."

"If there was one thing I had learned ...it was that scientists like to appear creative, and artists like to appear relevant."

"One day, I say in despair, 'This is rough. And he, staring down at me intently says, 'This is war.'"

"Making pies...with the frantic pace at Tippi's, it was more difficult to surrender to the sadness that grabbed her at quiet times."

"Before we enter serious relationships, we don't have to...see our true selves. So the first time you get called out for being annoying..."

“Grief is such a—oh, it is such a solitary thing; It is like sliding down the outside of a really long glass building while nobody sees you"

"In my world, the migration of a story is something we recognize, and we respect. Works of art can overlap, or they can sort of chime in...

"Yeah, my body won't allow for a lot of ambitious plans I'd had, but it also won't allow for any bullshit..."

"...she left her bedroom to find an atmosphere of regret hanging over the house."

"Researching Late Bloomers has left me thoroughly convinced that America and many parts of the world face a crisis of untapped and...

"The old house was being renovated. Even from this distance he could see the evidence of it in the yard: piles of timber, a small bonfire...

"A part of me needed to suffer. Suffering is painful and tangible, but something I could curl up with, and I did."

"Gunnen (Dutch) [describes] the action of wishing a positive experience upon another...When we experience..kindness..we behave more kindly"

"By day we worked in their orchards and fields, but every night, we returned home."

"...There are three stages in a life: Youth, Middle Age, and You're-looking-great!"

'"Hi Mum," I say. "Leena, hi!" I wince. She's all breezy and faux casual, like she's practiced the greeting before making the call...."

"We have seasons when we flourish and seasons when the leaves fall from us, revealing our bare bones. Given time, they grow again.”

"...perhaps he is one of the dying breed who understand that, if they want bookshops to survive, they have to support them."

"I miss my iPhone! I'll never complain about the autocorrect function again."

All along...he had experienced only the most glancing relationship with his own life..."