Abraham Verghese

"But you reach a point where after trying and trying you say, Patience be damned. Let them suffer their distorted worldview. Your job is to preserve yourself, not to descend into their hole. Its a relief when you arrive at this place, the point of absurdity, because then you are free, you know you owe them nothing."

"The ritual of immigration and baggage claim at Kennedy Airport went by so quickly that I wondered if Id missed it. Where were the armed soldiers? The dogs? The long lines? The body searches? Where were the tables where your luggage was laid open and a knife taken to the lining?"

"When she walked away I felt the weight of what she left unsaid. I wanted to call after her, Ma! You have it all wrong. But just as she kept her thoughts to herself, I was learning to do the same. This was what growing up was about: hide the corpse, dont bare your heart, do make assumptions about the motives of others. Theyre certainly doing all these things to you."

"Maybe it was written on my face that Id become aware of human complexity - thats a kinder word than "deceit"."

"And that is how he passed from this life to the next, without fanfare, with characteristic simplicity, fearless, opening his eyes that last time to make sure we were fine before he went on."

"Ghosh trusted me to do whatever it is I would choose to do. That, too, is love. Hed been dead more than a quarter century and he was still teaching me about the trust that comes only from true love."

"Sometimes we have to “live the question,” not push for the answer."

"I believe in black holes. I believe that as the universe empties into nothingness, past and future will smack together in the last swirl around the drain."

"All my ghosts had vanished; the retribution that they sought had been exacted. I had nothing more to give and nothing to fear."

"I have excised the cancer from my past, cut it out; I have crossed the high plains, descended into the desert, traversed oceans, and planted my feet in new soil; I have been the apprentice, paid my dues, and have become master of my ship. But when I look down, why do I see the ancient, tarred, mud-stained slippers that I buried at the start of the journey still stuck to my feet?"

"We don’t have children to fulfill our dreams. Children allow us to let go of the dreams we were never meant to fulfill."

"Ghosh sighed. "I hope one day you see this as clearly as I did in Kerchele. The key to your happiness is to own your own slippers, own who you are, own how you look, own your family, own the talents you have, and the ones you dont. If you keep saying your slippers arent yours, then youll die searching, youll die bitter, always feeling you were promised more. Not only your actions, but also our omissions, become our destiny."