“When i was a kid we took a trip to the beach, and I just remember being annoyed by the smell of sunscreen, the squawk of seagulls, and the way that the sand would cling on to my wet feet. Then of course, if I tried to wash them off in the ocean, they would just get wetter and the sand would cling more. Talk about a no-win situation.”

“To a Scot, the past clings like sand to wet feet, and is carried about as a burden. The many ghosts are always a part of them, inescapable.”

“When the tides change, you have two choices. You can either stand there, letting the water wash over you and your feet sink deeper into the wet sand... or you can get out of the way. You can move up the beach - or off the beach, if you want. The point is to not get stuck.”

“This time as we ascend, I watch the world sinking below us. I watch the way the city fades into sand that gets washed by the ocean.”

“He invaded my consciousness in the same way the ocean washes up on the beach, with sweeping tides of longing and regret, and with such power and raw force, I often woke with the taste of salt from my tears clinging to my skin." Joanna about Ben”

“Just remember: If one bird carried every grain of sand, grain by grain, across the ocean, by the time he got them all on the other side, that would only be the beginning of eternity. ”