“I wondered then why children played so in the river, but adults ceased to see it with the same eyes. Why couldn't we embrace such simple joys?”

“Why did children seem to be so often spontaneous, joy-filled and concentrated while adults seemed controlled, anxiety-filled and diffused? It was the Goddam sense of having a self.”

“Coraline wondered why so few of the adults she met made any sense.”

“At some point as adults we cease to be our parents' children and we become our children's parents instead.”

“Why couldn’t I simply accept things as they were and be grateful? I wondered. How I envied people whose desires were simple and who could find joy in life as it is. Surely there was no reason why I shouldn’t take pleasure in the marvelous things I was in a position to see and hear – yet all I felt was weariness. Page 329”

“Which brings me to the question of why we always 'fall' in love. One falls down steps, off ladders, into rivers and down mountains. If love is so wonderful, why don't we soar in love or climb in love?”