“The only thing that scares me now is me.The [person] I might become. The [person] I dont ever want to be.Everybody has fears, right? But how many have my fear?Enough, it seems. Because there's a name for it.Autophobia.Fear of oneself.”

“I have a fear of palindromes. Maybe because the only person to ever beat the hell out of me was a man named Bob.”

“As I paddle along, I slowly become aware that it's been fear keeping me out of this pool for so many years. I never came here before because I was afraid I'd make a fool of myself by not having the endurance to complete a lap. The swimming wasn't what scared me; failure was. My fear locked me in a state of arrested development for so many years. Fear kept me from tackling my weight, which I understand has simply been symptomatic of my greater fear, growing up. I glide down the lane on my back and reflect on how good I feel right now. It's not because I've lost more than thirty pounds. I feel incredible because I've stopped being afraid.”

“What will I become? Because I won't be me any longer. That will be a relief. I dont want to be the helpless person I've always been.”

“This is the strongest I have ever wanted a family. Other people to worry with. I am the only person worrying for her and it feels to me like this diminishes her odds of recovery. To have many people praying for you suddenly seems like a necessary thing and I consider telling the woman next to me what is happening, if only to have another person thinking about my Mom.”

“I've only ever really been afraid of the fear, but right now, I fear nothing.”