“Tears are a river that takes you somewhere…Tears lift your boat off the rocks, off dry ground, carrying it downriver to someplace better.”

“...a river season will last as long as it takes you to reach your newplace. If you get into the river and let it take you where you need tobe, your river season will last an afternoon. But if you fear changeand struggle and hold on to the rocks, the river season will last andlast. It will not end until your body becomes exhausted, your gripweakens, your hands slide off the rocks and the current takes you toyour new place.”

“For every tear you shed for someone else’s grief, it takes one off of their suffering.”

“If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn they will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem.”

“I'm thinking of being a professional mourner. How hard can it be? Tear at your hair, sing a dirge or two, take the rest of the week off.”

“He bursts into tears, and not some manlike tears either, where you pretend you're brushing something off your face and, incidentally, wipe a tear. Nope. He starts bawling like a kid who spilled his Slushie...”