“I have always felt that life is a solitary journey, that we are each on a train, riding through our hours, our days, our years. […] Our time riding together is fleeting, but it’s everything – because the time together is what brings us love, joy, and connection.” – pg. xi
“[My parents] taught me that it was fine to have large goals and to work hard to achieve them, and that marriage or even parenthood doesn’t mean you have to stop dreaming big for yourself.” – pg. 13
“Confidence is not a permanent state of being. […] It’s something you can work to develop and something you have to work to maintain.” – pg. 57
“I felt like I was being treated as more important than I actually was and it was a strange new feeling.” – pg. 70
“Twenty years later, I can look back and say to my younger self: ‘You did it. With a couple of decades of constant perseverance, you made your dreams come true.'” – pg. 103
“I’m just like everyone else: I look myself in the mirror and think maybe I can lose a little weight; I think maybe I can work out a little more. But I’m also content. This is my face. This is my body.I might be flawed, but I am me.” – pg. 107
“My difference is my strength.” – pg. 112
“We all want to take care of the people we are closest to, those sitting at our table. But is there a world in which those who are blessed with more might build a larger table rather than building a higher fence?” – pg. 125
“Actors who made the most lasting impressions were the ones who did two things. First, they truly listened in every one of their scenes rather than just waiting to say their lines. […] Second, they found ways to communicate multiple thoughts and feelings simultaneously.” – pg. 126
“There are no small parts, only small actors.” – pg. 134
“As they say, ‘You want to tell God a joke? Tell her your plan.'” – pg. 135
“Sometimes those pep talks we give ourselves actually do work.” – pg. 149
“I always knew that my career would never be just one thing – not just films, not just music, not just television – and that I would follow a multitude of paths to make sure that all of my creative interests and endeavors would be fed.” – pg. 156
“I knew [that grief] would always be there. It might change, evolve, become larger or smaller, but it would always be there. And this acceptance, it seems, helped me move forward.” – pg. 177
“This period of being alone showed me that I needed the space to do nothing, too, to just be.” – pg. 182
“For me, one of the hardest things to accept in life is that control is an illusion. I hate that I can’t control what happens in my life, but I can’t. Loss happens. Failure happens. Sorrow happens. I can’t always control where I’m headed, either. Sometimes sadness is the destination, whether or not it’s where I want to go. During my time there I had to learn to trust that I was visiting for a reason, but that it would not be my permanent place of residence, my forever state of being. That, like water, I would flow past it eventually and end up where I was meant to be.” – pg. 183
“Sometimes when you’re not looking for love, it appears right in front of you.” – pg. 189
“We as human beings have a tendency to look away from what’s uncomfortable or painful. It’s natural. But if we can turn our gaze to what is difficult, […] we have the chance to do something life-affirming.” – pg. 229
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