"We're meeting today...to apologize, and to understand, and to atone....We never know all the consequences of our acts. They reach into places we can't see. And into the future, where no one can." Chapter 3, p. 38

"Birds don't live alone, I told myself. They live in flocks. Like people. People are always in a group. Like that little wooden band. And whenever there's a group, there's fighting. If the people in the group get along, maybe they make good music instead of arguing....That's how life is. I stared at that marching band. Then I got in the car and drove home." Chapter 4, p. 62

"This is his trip to take, not theirs." Chapter 5, p. 65

"By comparison, his own life seemed unfurnished with skills and interests. He desired to become the man he was impersonating." Chapter 5, p. 68

"The lies were piling up: that he was a coffee drinker...