The most important thing about getting somewhere is starting right where we are.
What exactly was the difference? he wondered to himself. And who decided which people wore the striped pajamas and which people wore the uniforms?
There is cruelty in the world Eliza, you can see that, can't you? It surrounds us. It breathes on us. We spend our life trying to escape it.
War today is such a more visible thing. We see it on television, on CNN. In 1914, war was a concept.
I was dropped by my publisher after my first two books. But I always believed in myself.
I hope for so much from every book I read. And time and again, I find myself disappointed. I look across my bookshelves and see hundreds of titles which in my memory seem merely mediocre or second-rate. Only occasionally does a novel appear for which I feel a lasting passion, a book that I think could in time become a classic.
It's not easy making a living as a writer, and for many years I worked at a Waterstones in Dublin. It was a good environment for an aspiring writer, with lots of events and authors appearing.
Whatever your present situation, I assure you that you are not your habits. You can replace old patterns of self-defeating behavior with new patterns, new habits of the effectiveness, happiness and trust-based relationships.
Often on a wet day I begin counting up; what I've read and what I haven't read.
First do it, then say it.
A country that relies on aid? Death is better than that. It stops you from achieving your potential, just as colonialism did.