Thomas H. Cook

“Perspective gets lost in moral certainties. Which only means that no one was ever burned at the stake by a doubter.”

“I like characters who are changed, often for the better, by the dark nature of their experiences. I also can become engaged by a character for whom I wish to see justice done, one way or the other. In general, I require a book to have some sort of moral center.”

“Risk will always be a part of life. It's how we recognize this and deal with it that matters.”

“She was a woman of extended silences, I noticed, and she said very little as we walked the streets of La Boca, looking at its brightly colored houses. It was as if she understood that quiet observation was the key to knowing a place, perhaps even the key to life.”

“I went to the Alabama public schools at a time when my English teachers, all but one of whom was a woman, taught nothing but the classics. They revered the great British and American writers.”

“Life to me is defined by uncertainty. Uncertainty is the state in which we live, and there is no way to outfox it.”

“He looked at me intently, from what seemed behind the veil of a grave experience. Then slowly and prophetically, he said the scariest thing I'd ever heard: "Because the answer to a heartfelt question, Jack, will always break your heart.”