"I feel like I always learn when I'm writing, even when I'm not writing about myself. I'm careful not to judge; I try to internalize and empathize with the characters. Stepping into that person's shoes is transformative. It changes you. Looking at my own life, it's also humbling to write."

“I vowed I wouldn't ever let anyone destroy me again. I was going to work at it every day, so hard that I would be the toughest guy in the world. By the end of practice, I wanted to be physically tired, to know that I'd been through a workout. If I wasn't tired, I must have cheated somehow, so I stayed a little longer.”

“I am possessed by love and have no options.”

Source : Elizabeth Smart (1945). “By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept ; And, The Assumption of the Rogues & Rascals”, Vintage

“Im looking for leaders who are going to go to Washington for a season, not career politicians. People who understand that the strength of America comes from the private sector, not Washington, D.C.”

“His modesty amounts to deformity.”

“A throne is God's purpose for you; a cross is God's path for you; faith is God's plan for you.”

Source : Alan Redpath (2004). “The Making of a Man of God (Alan Redpath Library): Lessons from the Life of David”, p.54, Baker Books

“If, like Jacob, you trust God in little things, He may answer you by great things.”

Source : John Ross MacDuff (1878). “Eventide at Bethel; or, The night-dream of the desert, an Old Testament chapter (Gen. xxviii) in providence and grace”

“You don't need a guidebook to see New Orleans - just a good pair of shoes.”

“I hate striking out, doesn't matter what time of the game. I just don't like striking out.”

Source : "We Play ''Would You Rather" With Joe Mauer". Interview with Rafi Kohan, www.gq.com. March 21, 2011.