"It did feel as if it was something I had to do, but I couldn't have said why, and I was surprised and grateful that my father understood this without my having to explain it" (Page 11).

"Out here there isn't day and night and then a new day. Instead, there are degrees of light and dark merging and changing. It's like one long stream of time unfolding in front of you, all around you" (Page 42).

"I wondered if it was better to know about the bad things in advance and worry about them, or whether it was better not to know, so that you could enjoy yourself" (Page 71).

"If you are always lolling around and being pampered and life is too easy, then you turn into a spineless wimp, but if you encounter suffering, you learn to face challenges and you get stronger" (Page 91).

"I was just about...