“I watch his hands, they're lumpy but clever. "Is there a word for adults when they aren't parents?"Steppa laughs. "Folks with other things to do?”

“The problem with parents is that they're adults.”

“That's what friends do: they notice things. They're there for each other. They see what parents don't.”

“Parents aren't the people you come from. They're the people you want to be, when you grow up.”

“You can do it." Coach said. "I can do it." "You can do it." "I can do it." Do you understand how amazing it is to hear that from an adult? Do you know how amazing it is to hear that from anybody? It's one of the simplest sentences in the world, just four words, but they're the four hugest words in the world when they're put together. (189)”

“Parents aren't supposed to cry. They're not supposed to have emotions, apart from anger, disappointment and pride. And fatigue. But they're never supposed to cry. It seems like such a personal, private thing.”