“The desert is full of things you can’t hold on to — light and heat and sand that slips through your fingers like friendships you once had.”

“Relationships - of all kinds - are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely, with an open hand, the sand remains where it is.The minute you close your hand and squeeze tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers. You may hold onto it, but most will be spilled. A relationship is like that. Held loosely, with respect and freedom for the other person, it is likely to remain intact. But hold too tightly, too possessively, and the relationship slips away and is lost.”

“One day you will hear the sound of time rustling as it slips through your fingers like sand. Remember me then. I wish you luck.”

“And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.”

“Once you discover that you can, you must.”

“When it comes to having your manuscript edited, the truth will set you free; just as soon as you rewrite the whole thing.”

“To believe, perhaps you had to cease looking for explanations and instead hold the little thing in your hands as long as your were able before it slipped like water between your fingers.”