“I was a lot braver when I was eight.”

“Maybe if the right person floats into your life, you have to jump in with both feet and try to make it work before the tide turns.”

“I'd spent so many years doing things I didn't really want to do for people I didn't really like.”

“Because nobody knows you better than somebody who knew you way back then.”

“I pulled my suitcase out of the backseat of my bug, along with Cannoli's new travel case, a spiffy animal print pet backpack on wheels. When I first saw it, I thought maybe the dog was supposed to wear the backpack, but it turned out the person wore the backpack with the dog in it.”

“Everybody does stupid things in life. Some of us more than others. You think you're going to get away with it. Or one or both of you just stop thinking. But it happens. And when it does, you can keep drinking it like poison, or you can put it behind you and go make the most of the rest of your life.”

“If I didn’t have a job, I might have stayed in bed until I rotted.”

“I confronted the fact that I was not only talking to a dog, but answering for one.”

“He looks good for a while, but ya know, ya can’t shine a sneaker.”

“Maybe part of finding what you wanted was recognizing what you didn’t want.”

“The remnants of his adolescent vulnerability were all over his face.”