“Lucidity of speech is unquestionably one of the surest tests of mental precision...In my experience a confused talker is never a clear thinker.”

“Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps.”

“The finest eloquence is that which gets things done; the worst is that which delays them.”

“The best thing about my writing is that it makes me feel alive again. If I am going to be obsessed with self, at least self can give back a little.”

“I was eleven when my father left, so neither of us really knew our fathers. I’d met mine of course, but then I only knew my dad as a child knows a parent, as a sort of crude outline filled in with one or two colors. I’d never seen my father scared or cry. I’d never heard him admit to any wrongdoing. I have no idea what he dreamed of. And once I’d seen a smile pinned to one cheek and darkness to the other when my mum had yelled at him. Now he was gone, and I was left with just an impression—one of male warmth, big arms, and loud laughter.”

“But observe that [Peter] never ceases to be a bold man; he does not become nervous and diffident. No, he does not change in that way. The essential personality remains; and yet he is 'poor in spirit' at the same time.”

“Sing me a pretty love song as I start to cryTell me you love me as you wipe the blood from my eyeTell me why the only one who can wipe away my tearsIs the only one who's the source of all my fears”