"My name is Asher Lev... I am a traitor, an apostate, a self-hater, an inflicter of shame upon my family, my friends, my people; also, I am a mocker of ideas sacred to Christians, a blasphemous manipulator of modes and forms revered by Gentiles for two thousand years."

“If a man achieves victory over this body, who in the world can exercise power over him? He who rules himself rules over the whole world.”

“I flew into a small airport surrounded by cornfields and pastures, ready to carry out the two commands my father had written out for me the night before I left Calcutta: Spend two years studying creative writing at the Iowa Writers Workshop, then come back home and marry the bridegroom he selected for me from our caste and class.”

Source : "American Dreamer". www.motherjones.com. January/February 1997.

“We believe that whatever feels at first like joy is not. Or is, but will not last. Or should not last. We feel so sure of this that we will undermine our own inklings of joy, blunting the pain we think awaits.”

Source : Anneli Rufus (2014). “Unworthy: How to Stop Hating Yourself”, p.61, Penguin

“Most people, especially activists, recognize their differences with others rather than what they have in common and that leads to frustration more than persuasion.”

Source : "Senior VP of PETA Dan Mathews: On gay rights, empathy for animals, and getting married under the Las Vegas sign". Interview with Barbi Twins, www.marandapleasantmedia.com.

“They say cats have nine lives. I've had 12 already and I don't know how many more I'll have.”

“I've always hated the danger part of climbing, and it's great to come down again because it's safe But there is something about building up a comradeship - that I still believe is the greatest of all feats - and sharing in the dangers with your company of peers. It's the intense effort, the giving of everything you've got. It's really a very pleasant sensation.”

“I need to make mistakes, just to learn (who i am)”

“Central and western Pennsylvania has one of the best workforces in the country and this will provide job training, new skills and additional resources for those trying to find a job.”