“First rule of a good shrink is probably to pay attention to the whining.”

“One never forgets, of course not. The events of a person's life become a part of who they are. It would be like forgetting the sound of your own beating heart.”

“Okay. Sometimes the truth just lands at your feet in a lump, like a big, dead bird falling out of the sky. No warning...I stand there under the branches of the Honesty Tree. More dead birds of truth fall down all around me.”

“Don't you think...doesn't it seem sometimes like life is like a plane?...And we're all piloos, you know, of our own planes. When things are going smoothly then we're, like, on autopilot, but sometimes things get a little, well, turbulent and then we have to land the plane on our own..."What about the air traffic control?"...Well, sure. Sometimes the guy is helpful, but maybe he's drunk?...Or maybe there's this big fog so you just put your hands on the controls and look for the runway lights and do your best. On your own.”

“There's no point in getting angry. Anger makes you ask questiona. Anger sets up expectations and demands to know the truth. ”

“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.”

“I'm the one shot, the heir and the spare, so you have to make damn sure your one investment pays off because there's no backup.”