“Mizzy has wandered into the garden. Carole looks contemplatively at him, says, "Lovely boy.""My wife's insanely younger brother. He's one of those kids with too much potential, if you know what I mean.""I know exactly what you mean."Further details would be redundant. Peter knows the Potters' story: the pretty, unstoppable daughter who's tearing through her Harvard doctorate versus the older child, the son, who has, it seems, been undone by his good fortune; who at thirty-eight is still surfing and getting stoned by way of occupations, currently in Australia.”

“Mizzy has, again, wandered into the garden, like a child who feels no fealty to adult conversation.”

“At the time, I thought this was just one of those vague things adults say to remind you that you're a kid who doesn't know what adults know. But it seemed now it was one of those specific things adults say to remind you that you're a kid who doesn't know what adults know.”

“I'm not sure what God has in store for you but I do know one thing - it will be good. I've learned He doesn't skimp with those who have a heart for Him. After all, His Word says He honors those who honor Him.”

“Ah,' she says. 'But I know where your heart was. I know where it still is. And so do you.'He's gone,' I say. I lock the canvas into a hoop and hand it back to her. 'Here.'Then you must find him,' she says. 'You'll never stop loving him, you know. He'll never really be gone. My Gabriel is still here.'Your Gabriel?'Yes, my Gabriel. My husband.'You mean Lawrence,' I say. Lawrence, her husband who disappeared in a storm over thirty years ago.I mean my Gabriel. Everyone has one.' Ada takes my hand it puts it over her chest. 'Eva, my heart is ancient. But it still beats for him. Only for him.'I look into Ada's glistening eyes. She is telling the truth.You must find him.'I know that she is right.(Anxious Hearts)”

“What I mean is that those thoughts, they're human. And just because you turn out differently than everyone's imagined you would doesn't mean that you've failed in some way. A kid who gets teased in one school might move to a different one, and be the most popular girl there, just because no one has any other expectations of her. Or a person who goes to med school because his entire family is full of doctors might find out that what he really wants to be is an artist instead.”