Emily and Einstein

In order to live a life truly worth living you had to have strength in the face of adversity, patience when confronted by challenge, and bravery in the face of fear. As Sandy Portman I had used arrogance in the face of fear, disdain in the face of challenge, and selfishness in the face of adversity.

The real question isn't "Why aren't you strong enough?" It's "Why do you keep doubting that you already are?

It’s hard to believe in miracles until you’ve seen one happen. But once you’ve seen, well, life alters and you can never look

I don't remember exactly when books became my refuge, but it was in the pages of a world created out of thin air that I began to find pieces I recognized as myself.

It's regret that kills, the if onlys that leave the mortal wounds.

Sometimes there is more to a person's need for white picket fences than safety, just as sometimes there is more to a person's rebellion than the need to lash out against rules.

It’s over for me, isn’t it?” The old man glanced across the room mid-chew. “What do you mean?” “I’m not getting my body back.” He shrugged. “Probably not.” My head swam. It didn’t matter that at some level I had suspected the truth; hearing the words spoken out loud felt like a kick in the teeth. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” “You’re a smart guy, Alexander, and we both know you had already figured it out. That’s always the way with people—truth staring them in the face but unwilling to accept it.” He ate another cookie quietly. “But,” he added, “even if I had spelled it out you wouldn’t have believed me. You weren’t ready or willing to accept it yet. You’d just have gotten all worked up.

My mother used to tell me that life could change in an instant, a line drawn in the sand separating before from after, altering you completely. Was that really true? Could a person be changed in an instant? Or did a crack already have to exist in the ice, the beginnings of a change we simply refused to see?