“He mentioned the connection between us. He identified with me. These are the things that many people want to hear, that most “normal” people want to be able to truthfully say, but almost no one can.”

“What she mostly wanted, he learned, was the same thing many people want--someone to notice she was there.”

“She was tired of people saying things they thought she wanted to hear almost as much as she dreaded them saying the things she didn't want to listen to.”

“Is there a fungus that speaks to you? I'm serious. People hear things. They hear God."He meant it. He was serious. He wanted to mean it, to hear anything the man might say, the wholeshapeless narrative of his unraveling.”

“I am the only one of us who brings in any money. the other two cannot make money fortune telling. this is because they only tell the truth, and the truth is not what people want to hear. it is a bad thing and it troubles people, so they do not come back.”

“Plainly stated, these false teachers enjoy so much success because they tell people what they want to hear, whether it's the truth or not. People want their ears "tickled"---they want to hear things that make them feel good. They want everything they hear to be "self-affirming" and "non-threatening" to their self-esteem.”