I had never climbed a mountain, but standing at the bottom, looking at the summit, thinking, “How the fuck am I going to make it?” was pointless.

“I knew we had to celebrate, not the breakup of a marriage, but a woman prepared…”

“Your life is not a personal story.”

“I knew only that my thoughts and external events were inextricably linked.”

“There was no turning back. I had created the situation, and having come this fa…”