“Maybe a first love exists to remind you to be brave in the moment, to stand up for your feelings, instead of shrinking back in the face of potential loneliness.”

A good mother is irreplaceable.

The only urgent thing in life is the pursuit of love. You get that one right, and you’ve solved the mystery.

This is where men and women are different, we can put aside petty competition for relationships – they can’t. It interferes.

A library is a home filled with our stories.

There is no one on earth who knew you from the day you were born; who knew why you cried, or when you’d had enough food; who knew exactly what to say when you were hurting.

Two different things. Work is survival, and love sustains you.

I am still emotional when I look at those boxes checked yes.

But when the morning comes, I realize that there’s nothing to be done about what has already happened.

I wish I was the kind who made up stories.

You can’t always think about what you’ve lost, or what you don’t have, or what you didn’t get. Because when you do that, you’re missing out on the now.

You never know when some small thing will lead to a big idea.

It’s the secret to happiness, you know. Only take what you need.

The ship’s manifest showed that they could read and write.

My mother was an avid readerShe loved books about romance.

But what Mom never told me is that along the way, you find sisters, and they find you. Girls are cool that way.

I don’t use a crap camera, I don’t eat junk, and I’m not going to a dance where the boys are bores.

You’ll get back to where you came from.

Once Michael gets up there he says, ‘Well, maybe I’ll just hang up here in the air for a while, just sit back.’ Then all of a sudden, he says, ‘Well, maybe I’ll 360.

She was snatched back from a dream of far countries, and found herself on Main Street.

I’ve spent the past month in Washington D.C. and it is terrific to be back in America.

I think about my sons and the legacy I have to leave for them – and it always brings me back to reality.

When I come back, we’ll all need each other to step up our games and do what needs to be done.

Like everything else, love’s not worth much without some action to back it up.

Standing on that platform, I said a silent prayer. I thanked God for giving me the strength and the opportunity to come back, to play basketball again, and to be part of that whole magnificent Olympic experience. It’s a memory I will always cherish.