“In the end it all came down to companionship, to friendship, to sacrifice, to compromise.”

“Compromise is sacrifice when it costs you your peace of mind. Friendship is idolatry when it costs you your self-worth. Love is lust when it costs you your purpose.”

“The companionship of dead writers is a wonderful form of live friendship.”

“Of course we all want to make compromises for our spouse. That’s part of the bargain of marriage, after all. But when compromise gets into sacrifice, then that’s when the territory becomes dangerous, because that’s when resentments build up. And the problem with navigating this territory is that there is no map, because what’s compromise for one person might be the most terrible sacrifice for another.”

“Love and passion are well and good while they last, but in the end what mattes is whether you like the person you are with. Friendship and companionship matter more. They are the things that last. And if in the end we learn to be friends, I will be content.”

“A successful marriage is coalition governance that has many compromises and sacrifices.”