“All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

“I'm biding my time until my real life kicks in.""How will you know when that happens?""It will be when I no longer have a list of things I've never done.”

“The trouble with you and me, is that we don't live in the real world. We dream of fantastic things that may never happen.”

“But I've bought a big bat.I'm all ready, you see.Now my troubles are goingTo have troubles with me!”

“If you'd had all the experiences I've had, you'd know that there are times in life when the most comfortable thing is to do nothing at all. Things happen to you and just let them happen.”

“But the thing is, my slate will never be swiped clean--this will never fade into the background and become some sort of learning experience or bump in the road. The shit that happened in my life and this book is real. And because I finally woke up to that whole realization much too late--the realization that life really happens and there is always a consequence for your actions--I lost everything in some sense, but in a weird kind of great way, if you flip it all around, I may have gained the most important thing of all: the truth. I can live with that.”