“It quickly becomes clear that having a child in France doesn't require choosing a parenting philsophy.”

“A child is not a Christian child, not a Muslim child, but a child of Christian parents or a child of Muslim parents. This latter nomenclature, by the way, would be an excellent piece of consciousness-raising for the children themselves. A child who is told she is a 'child of Muslim parents' will immediately realize that religion is something for her to choose -or reject- when she becomes old enough to do so.”

“A flower can't choose the place where it blooms, and a child can't choose the parents she's born to”

“For a child, parents’ warning is like a rose blooming in the brain; it opens with difficulty and fades quickly.”

“The business of being happy requires making a conscious choice. People think being happy will just happen to them someday, if only they do this or that right. But it doesn't - you have to choose it. You choose happiness, you don't wait for it to choose you.”

“Like many a modern parent, I had no clear notion of how to help my most troubled child.”