Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.

Laughter is the closest thing to the grace of God.

Unexplained joy is always so keen that... it seems to hold enough to reconcile one to the inevitable.

Unexplained joy is always so keen that... it seems to hold enough to reconcile one to the inevitable.

One often calms one's grief by recounting it.

One often calms one's grief by recounting it.

Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, read more

Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self-esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily . . .

It is better to receive than to do an injury.
[Lat., Accipere quam facere injuiam praestat.]

It is better to receive than to do an injury.
[Lat., Accipere quam facere injuiam praestat.]

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.

When we suffer anguish we return to early childhood because that is the period in which we first learnt to read more

When we suffer anguish we return to early childhood because that is the period in which we first learnt to suffer the experience of total loss. It was more than that. It was the period in which we suffered more total losses than in all the rest of our life put together.

When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this: When you read more

When you were born, you cried and everybody else was happy. The only question that matters is this: When you die, will YOU be happy when everybody else is crying?

I've never thought of my characters as being sad. On the contrary, they are full of life. They didn't choose read more

I've never thought of my characters as being sad. On the contrary, they are full of life. They didn't choose tragedy. Tragedy chose them.