“I think it shows that sometimes for one person to keep breathing, something else has to stop." (hardcover page 37)”

“I held my breath as we do sometimes to stop time when something wonderful has touched us...”

“No, this is serious, Ollie. So I'm watching this spider building its web in the corner of the window. First it does the main parts, then the little connector rods. It's like so careful and precise, right? And then just when it's done, Mrs. Halverson comes over and says, 'It's so stuffy in here I can hardly breathe. Let's have some air,' and opens the window. And boom, all the spider's work was gone." He paused. "Made me think, man, that was just like life."I touched his cheek. "What do you mean, silly boy?""You work and work, and all it takes is one bitch to ruin everything."Ollie stared ahead steadily and said, "I think it shows that sometimes for one person to keep breathing, something else has to stop.”

“It’s a wonder I’m even alive. Sometimes I think that. I think that I can’t believe I haven’t killed myself. But there’s something in me that just keeps going on. I think it has something to do with tomorrow, that there is always one, and that everything can change when it comes.”

“I couldn't even think about wanting to be something else; I wouldn't let myself visualize another life. But I wrote because I couldn't stop. It was a release, a mental exercise, a way of keeping sane.”

“I sometimes think that I enjoy suffering. But the truth is I would prefer something else.”