“A first kiss is the demarcation line: the same information that a moment ago felt private, all of a suddens seems unfair to withhold. And with that exchange came more.”

“Suddenly it all seemed luminously clear. Love had very little to do with fear and emotional sabotage; love had to do with trust.”

“We knew nothing of loss. Nobody has taught us about pain. Until that moment, death had just amounted to a scary sound.”

“It's not easy to give up something you've had all your life.”

“I'd rather stay asleep than have to learn all those frightening secrets.”

“How can I explain this? Why is it you can never hope to describe the emotion Africa creates?You are lifted.Out of whatever pit, unbound from whatever tie, released from whatever fear. You are lifted and you see it all from above. Your pit, your ties, your fear. you are lifted, you slowly rise like a hot-air balloon, and all you see is the space and the endless possibilities for losing yourself in it.”

“Maybe that's what happens with age, I thought. All your life you force yourself to forget people who have hurt you, but as you get older and weaker their memory surfaces again, like a bubble in the water. You have to surrender, because you feel to tired to fight it and push it down again. And maybe, unexpectedly, you find out that instead, of revamping your anger, those memories produce an unexpected sweetness.”