"A question wells up inside me, a question so big it blocks my throat and makes it hard to breathe. Somehow I swallow it back, finally choosing another. 'Are memories such an important thing?'It depends,' she replies, and closes her eyes. 'In some cases, they're the most important thing there is."

"My feelings about my mortality are less selfish than they used to be. I used to affect a cavalier attitude to death now I see it from my son's perspective."