“Why does the threat of violent death alter some of us, even if subtly, forever? Why does it make us unusually numb or calm when we ought to feel terrified? Why do scents or sounds trigger in some of us a feeling of terror or unbearable dread, even in situations where we know, at least, intellectually, that we are perfectly safe?”

“In order to live in the present, we have to learn how to feel safe even when a situation feels threatening to us.”

“It's that old, old fear thing again. Why does it creep along with us, attached to us like our shadow? Why can't it just leave us alone? Why can't we tell each other what we think and what we feel?”

“Why does it take fear to move you? Why does it take chaos to make us understand exactly what we need to do?”

“Why do our parents have the ability to make us feel like children even when our hair is graying and we have a mortgage that feels like a Third World debt? (135)”

“God is beautiful. He's perfect. And he inspires us how good we could be. That's why we chant. That's why Moses sings. And that's why Staudach is building us a perfect church. For if we know perfect beauty, with our eyes and with our ears, even for a second, we'll come that tiny bit closer to being it ourselves.”