“The backside of a mountain is a fight against human nature. You have to care as much about yourself on the way down as you did on the way up.”

“It’s funny. I met a man once who did a lot of mountain climbing. I asked him which was harder, ascending or descending? He said without a doubt descending, because ascending you were so focused on reaching the top, you avoided mistakes.The backside of a mountain is a fight against human nature,” he said. “You have to care as much about yourself on the way down as you did on the way up.”

“But sometimes, in tight corners, when your back is against the wall and the world is against you, you have to fight back in unexpected ways.”

“Caring passionately about something isn't against nature, and it isn't against human nature. It's what we're here to do.”

“You should write, first of all, to please yourself. You shouldn't care a damn about anybody else at all. But writing can't be a way of life - the important part of writing is living. You have to live in such a way that your writing emerges from it.”

“But choosing to lovingly care for her was like steering a plane into a mountain as gently as possible. The crash is imminent; it's how you spend your time on the way down that counts.”