“I am in that temper that if I were under water I would scarcely kick to come to the top.”

“When a man finds his self under the water, he has got to kick to get to the top...”

“If I were in the deepest coalpit of Nova Scotia, and had the Rocky Mountains piled on top of me, I would not be discouraged, and I would come out on top!”

“I stay where I am, watching as she lies down on her belly and scoots under the bed beside me. I imagine how different this would feel if we were both on top of the bed instead of underneath it, how easily something childlike could grow adult possibilities.”

“I am self-reliant, I am accountable, I am determined, I am strong, I am...the scarce minority.”

“I must learn more about these people―try to understand them, put myself in their place. No, instead I am so busy keeping my head above water that I scarcely know who I am, much less who anyone else is.”