“All those clean, fresh starts had made me forget what it was like, until now, to be messy and honest and out of control. To be real.”

“I think that's what a fresh start is all about. Not ignoring the past, but seeing it through the eyes of God, through the eyes of grace. Knowing where we've been and where we're going. A fresh start isn't about forgetting; it's about perspective.”

“..."he's the only thing that ever made me forget what it felt like to forget.”

“He wanted to stick his finger in it and see what happened. Some story, some quest, started here, and he wanted to go on it. It felt fresh and clean and unsafe, nothing like the heavy warm lard of palace life. The protective plastic wrap had been peeled off”

“Love isn't always clean and pretty--sometimes it's messy, cruel, and confusing. And sometimes, it doesn't turn out the way you want it to. But then, the beauty of love is that it's very strong, and when it's real, it's worth it.”

“Sex was never as neat as the movies made it. Real sex was messy. Good sex was messier.”