“But what would happen if I put on the ring?” the boy asked.“There is only one way to find out.”

“You break through the veil whenever you strap on a sword or chant the ancient verses. You escape when you write a poem or a tale that brings beauty into the world. You are set free whenever you love—even those who believe you’re crazy.”

“You are set free whenever you love—even those who believe you're crazy.”

“Imagine if every Thursday your shoes exploded if you tied them the usual way. This happens to us all the time with computers, and nobody thinks of complaining.”

“Writing well means never having to say, "I guess you had to be there.”

“Instead, what I was beginning to understand was that however things unfolded from here on, whatever the next chapter was, my life could never be the sum of one circumstance. It would be determined, as it had always been, by my willingness to put one foot in front of the other, moving forward, come what may.”

“Somehow reading a book never feels like sitting still.”