“Her life was monotonous, but it kept her out of trouble. . . . This, her father would say, was called being an adult.”

“As I took Allison to the airport for her flight into San Francisco and the rest of her life, I thought about how lucky her father and I were to have had her in our lives. My time with her was over, though I was sure we would stay in touch. I kept thinking I should be sad, but I felt content more than anything. Now, I’m not saying I won’t want to call her every day, and she’ll probably die without me, but why ruin something so perfect trying to stay together?”

“Perhaps boredom was an irrelevant concept for a life as monotonous as hers.”

“She kept her face to the floor, moving in her personal oblivion, her sunflower eyes fixed on the predicament of her life we would never understand.”

“Daddy.I was struck with the magnitude of what that meant, the responsibility of being a father. Waves of devotion swept through me as I silently promised her I would always be there for her, would always love her, would be the best father I could possibly be.”

“Katie is my hero. She has taken on challages in her life that I'm not sure I could ever come close to realizing for myself. I admire her greatly. And I say this,not because I'm her father,but because it's true. But being her father may have just a small bit to do with it”