What disturbs us most is not violence, but the corruption of what should be protected.

We assume every life needs direction, resolution, or repair. Some don’t.

Friction builds craft. But craft, if held too tightly, can become a cage.

Some forms of endurance begin when hope has already gone—when you realise nothing is coming back.

We’ve become very good at simulating presence, and losing the real thing.

Not all debts are financial. Some of the most important are never written down—and take years to pay.

We like simple stories. History rarely gives us any.

A few words at the front of a book can say more than everything that follows.

The idea that one word could explain a life is tempting—and almost certainly wrong.

Growing up doesn’t always mean moving forward.

Most of the fears we talk about aren’t the ones that actually drive us.

Perhaps the best place to begin a journey is by losing our way first.

There’s a moment in life where there’s no way forward, and no way back. Only a decision to make.

There are usually more witnesses than heroes or villains.

The difference between good and evil is often not who we are, but where we find ourselves.

We spend years getting good at things the world no longer rewards.

Most writing disappears. Some of it stays.

Some of the most important moments in life give no notice. And refuse to repeat.

Every language we learn changes the borders of the world we think we know.

The kind of work that endures is rarely made by reasonable people.