“How late is it? How long have we been sitting here? I look at my watch – three thirty and theday is almost ending. It’s October. All those kids recently returned to classrooms with new bags andpencil cases will be looking forward to half term already. How quickly it goes. Halloween soon, thenfirework night. Christmas. Spring. Easter. Then there’s my birthday in May. I’ll be seventeen.How long can I stave it off? I don’t know. All I know is that I have two choices – stay wrapped inblankets and get on with dying, or get the list back together and get on with living.”

“All I know is that I have two choices – stay wrapped in blankets and get on with dying, or get the list back together and get on with living.”

“I forgot my watch. Minutes or hours later, when the panic subsides, that is what I most regret. Not coming here in the first place - that seemed like an obvious choice - but my bare wrist, which makes it impossible for me to know how long I have been sitting in this room. My back aches, which is some indication, but it is not definite enough.”

“It doesn’t matter how old I get, but as long as I continue to live I’ll always discover something new about myself.”

“Don't get me wrong. The good part of Mom's life was shrinking down to nothing, and the hard parts were about all that remained. So I didn't long for a cure, nor did I expect one. Those who live long die in the end. But Addie was my compass north; as long as she was around, I knew where I was, even if I was running in the opposite direction. How would I get my bearings without her?”

“See, Brutus, for me, it’s not good enough to just guess as to whether there’s a heaven or how to get there. I’m not going to take Julian’s word for it, or Aaron’s word for it, or anyone else’s word for it. I’m going to find out for myself whether I believe there’s a heaven or not, and then I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing everything I possibly can to get there. We don’t get that long on earth, and heaven is forever, so if there’s anything I can do, anything at all, even if it takes my entire life, then it’s worth it,” Elena said.”