Sorrow is the violent smashing of reason, in that reason has no power over it.

Cyril Connolly, twentieth-century writer and critic, wrote that ‘words are alive and literature becomes an escape, not from, but into living.’ That was how I wanted to use books: as an escape back to life....

Stories about lives remembered bring us backward while allowing us to move forward.

Our house was open to anyone who needed a little extra support or comfort or just a home-cooked meal.

I was scared of living a life not worth the living. Why did I deserve to live when my sister had died? I was responsible now for two lives, my sister’s and my own, and,...

I took on a year of reading books for a reason. Because words are witness to life: they record what has happened, and they make it all real. Words create the stories that become history...

People share books they love. They want to spread to friends and family the goodness that they felt when reading the book or the ideas they found in the pages. In sharing a loved book,...

Remembrance is acknowledging that a life was lived …My father finally wrote out his memories for a reason. I took on a year of reading books for a reason. Because words are witness to life:...

Desire for a person is not the same thing as having that unique appreciation and need for them, nor is affection. Desire waxes and wanes, and affection can be felt without long-standing commitment. But ‘You...