“People, I thought, wanted security. They couldn't bear the idea of death being a big black nothing, couldn't bear the thought of their loved ones not existing, and couldn't even imagine themselves not existing. I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they couldn't bear not to.”

“People wanted security. They couldn't bear the idea of death being a black nothing, couldn't bear the thought of their loved ones not existing, and couldn't imagine themselves not existing.”

“People believed in an afterlife because they couldn't bear not to.”

“He couldn't bear to live, but he couldn't bear to die. He couldn't bear the thought of he making love to someone else, but neither could he bear the absence of the thought. And as for the note, he couldn't bear to keep it, but he couldn't bear to destroy it either.”

“No," I said. And maybe it was only because Alaska couldn't hit the brakes and I couldn't hit the accelerator.”

“Even though I hated the sympathy people felt toward me, I couldn't help but feel it toward him.”

“I could imagine it. I could remember it. But I couldn't see it again, and it occured to me that the voracious ambition of humans is never sated by dreams coming true, because there is always the thought that everything might be done better and again.”