“A thousand suns rise from my chest.”

“Then the musical instruments appeared. Dad’s snare drum from the house, Henry’s guitar from his car, Adam’s spare guitar from my room. Everyone was jamming together, singing songs: Dad’s songs, Adam’s songs, old Clash songs, old Wipers songs. Teddy was dancing around, the blond of his hair reflecting the golden flames. I remember watching it all and getting that tickling in my chest and thinking to myself: This is what happiness feels like.”

“I actually feel something in my chest open, a feeling so intense, it’s like my heart’s about to burst. And I just let it. I just let it out.”

“When the sun shines, you let it shine on you”

“But I'd do it again. I know that now. I'd make that promise a thousand times over and lose her a thousand times over to have heard her play last night or to see her in the morning sunlight. Or even without that. Just to know that she's somewhere out there. Alive.”

“Concert' doesn’t mean standing up like a target in front of thousands of strangers. It means coming together. It means harmony.”

“There were signs. Probably more of them than I ever caught, even after the fact. But I missed them all.Maybe because I wasn’t looking for them. I was too busy checking over my shoulder at the fire I’djust come through to pay much attention to the thousand-foot cliff looming in front of me.”