"You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces - my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined."

"In a sense, having cancer takes you by the shoulders and shakes you."

"I don't know why someone else's marriage has anything to do with me."

"Having bought furniture for my own house, and bought furniture for our house in Washington, a furniture store seemed like a good idea, and it also played into my personal history."

"Wisdom principle 69 tells us that the journey of life is lesson 48."

"It is a steadfast truth that every second given to regret is a precious second stolen from creation — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"It is a humble truth that life is an unwritten ledger; each passing sunrise offers a clean and waiting page — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"It is a subtle truth that all philosophical inquiry begins with the humility to admit the limits of knowing — an essential principle for the reflective life."