Even mourning takes practice: resisting the distractions that insulate us from facing up to the tragedy of the world in which we find ourselves, we need to teach our children to mourn for neighbors who bear the brunt of injustice, even though we grieve as those with hope (I Thess. 4:13). Sometimes in this fallen world the best thing we can do is teach our children how to be sad.

(~James K. A. Smith, You Are What You Love)

One comfort that I relish is a letter from a close friend. The surprise of the letter in the day's mail, the recognition of her handwriting on the envelope, the ritual of getting settled into my chair and reading and rereading her carefully chosen words.
(~Deborah Chappell)

People can lose their lives in libraries. They ought to be warned. 

(~Saul Bellow)

That's what literature is. It's the people who went before us, tapping out messages from the past, from beyond the grave, trying to tell us about life and death! Listen to them! 

(~Connie Willis)

Friendship is a simple thing, and yet complicated; friendship is on the surface, something natural, something taken for granted, and yet underneath one could find worlds. 
(~Jamaica Kincaid)

There's nothing like deep breaths after laughing that hard. Nothing in the world like a sore stomach for the right reasons. 

(~Stephen Chbosky)

Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby. 

(~Langston Hughes)