“there is no grief more devastating than the grief for what could have been.”

“If you ever start thinking that any of them are developmentally more mature than a high school boy, just remember they named their dogs after beer.”

“Most people think love comes from the heart or soul. The heart simple pumps blood, so love can't be created there. Where is the center for what appears to be a persons soul? The brain. And what is created there Jilly? That's right-dopamine. What does dopamine do? creates feelings of love and euphoria. How do we get our brains to create more? Drugs, massage, and or sex. Boil it down and it's all just dopamine. The good news is that you can also get more dopamine pumping through your brain by skiing fast...”

“It struck her hard how it was often the ordinary acts that were angelic. Maybe there were angels in the sky and maybe there weren't. Maybe angels helped arrange for Tom to be the one to drive along right at that moment. She didn't know. But what she did know was that there were angels on the ground. She did know that Tom stopped the car, got out, and buried the kid's dead cat. He didn't have to, but he did. It was a small act, but it was huge. And that made Tom an angel to her, one no less divine than any angels that might be in the sky.”

“If you can, judge less and observe more.”

“When someone you love dies, it's normal to lose your faith. I don't want you to lose yours. I want you to believe that there is a bigger force than you in this world, a loving and compassionate force. I want you to believe that your life has meaning and your existence has purpose. And when life is hard, I want you to believe that you'll be given strength to endure it, and that it will get better. I want you to have the peace in your heart you can only have when you believe there is a reason for everything, even if you cannot see it.”

“She and Lisa always called that kind of snow heroic, because a person could do no wrong in it. Everyone skied like a hero in that kind of snow.”