“Of course the fall semester didn’t start for another eight weeks or so. There was always a chance we were both being overly optimistic in thinking I’d be alive when it rolled around.”

“An ache filled my chest, so sharp that I gasped out loud. Was this what a broken heart felt like? Was it possible to die from the pain? I’d always thought the girls at school so dramatic; when they broke up with their boyfriends, they cried and carried on for weeks. I didn’t think they needed to throw such a fuss. But I’d never been in love before.”

“When we fall in love, we hope - both egotistically and altruistically - that we shall be finally, truly seen: judged and approved. Of course, love does not always bring approval: being seen may just as well lead to a thumbs-down and a season in hell.”

“If you have made mistakes...there is always another chance for you...you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call 'Failure' is not the falling down but the staying down.”

“We didn’t like each other when you were alive,” I muttered to my father. “You think living in my head is going to change that?”

“If I were in their place, I’d fall over myself.”