"That's the strangest thing about this life, about being in the ministry. People change the subject when they see you coming. And then sometimes those very same people ... tell you the most remarkable things. There's a lot under the surface of life ...malice and dread and guilt, and so much loneliness, where you wouldn't really expect to find it, either." p.6

"A man can know his father, or his son, and there might still be nothing between them but loyalty and love and mutual incomprehension." p.7

"For me writing has always felt like praying, even when I wasn't writing prayers, as I was often enough. You feel that you are with someone. I feel I am with you now, whatever that can mean, considering that you're only a little fellow now and when you're a man you might find these letters of no interest. Or they might never...