“Beauty might prevail in the very short term, but in the medium and longer terms, cultural norms - primarily those values and norms influenced by family - were more important.”

“It has become a cultural norm in Jewish families for parents to bring up their children to value wealth.”

“I didn't want to think of Benj in terms of syndromes and categories and labels and diagnoses, in terms of his performance on tests and evaluations, in terms of his differences from a perceived norm or imagined ideal. One of the questions my experience with Benj raised for me is: how do you value your child in a culture whose benchmarks for achievement and whose standards for evaluating and assessing kids are so out of line with your own values and who your child is?”

“Deciding to commit yourself to long term results rather than short term fixes is as important as any decision you'll make in your lifetime.”

“In terms of changes, the spiritual mentors teach me that I must not forget those relating primarily to improve myself.”

“Mal Peet: "In terms of sustaining a literate and literary culture, the books we put into our children’s hands are immeasurably more important than the latest works of high-profile novelists.”