“The'll have to kill me before I die--Yellowbeard”

“If history teaches us anything at all, it is that sooner or later, wherever you go or whatever you do, the sad, brutal fact remains that you're almost bound to run into somebody or something that really needs killin'.”

“And I'm dying to know, is it killing you like it's killing me? And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now.”

“Swans sing before they die— 't were no bad thing Should certain persons die before they sing.”

“I don't entirely approve of some of the things I have done, or am, or have been. But I'm me. God knows, I'm me.”

“I saw the whole universe laid out before me, a vast shining machine of indescribable beauty and complexity. Its design was too intricate for me to understand, and I knew I could never begin to grasp more than the smallest idea of its purpose. But I sensed that every part of it, from quark to quasar, was unique and - in some mysterious way - significant.”

“There is a moment when the body is about to cease its natural functions, when it is important to accept that death is happening and to begin to let go, emotionally, physically and spiritually. I have learned the signs when something is preventing this from happening. Perhaps the family or friends cannot accept that the loved one is dying. Perhaps there are some things the dying person has not reconciled - inside herself or with other people. Often there is fear of the physical act of dying.”