“Sadness was like quicksand, catching you unaware and pulling you in the more you fought it.”

“Sometimes, when you catch someone unaware at just the right time and in just the right light, you can catch sight of what they will be.”

“Some decisions in life naturally lead to an unhappy ending, leaving you sinking by degrees in a lake of quicksand.  And, unless someone reaches to pull you out, chances are you will drown in the consequences.”

“Better to see widely than to see too closely and allow some feature of place or situation to catch you unawares. Do you understand?”

“I felt something catch in my throat, a sudden surge of sadness that caught me unaware, almost taking my breath away. That was the thing. You never got used to it, the idea of something being gone. Just when you think it's reconciled, accepted, someone points it out to you and it just hits you all over again, that shocking.”

“Now and then in life, love catches you unawares, illuminating the dark corners of your mind, and filling them with radiance. Once in awhile you are faced with a beauty and a joy that takes your soul, all unprepared, by assault.”