Mary Catherine Bateson

The family is changing, not disappearing. We have to broaden our understanding of it, look for the new metaphors.

Goals too clearly defined can become blinkers.

Of any stopping place in life, it is good to ask whether it will be a good place from which to go on as well as a good place to remain.

The capacity to combine commitment with skepticism is essential to democracy.

Sharing is sometimes more demanding than giving.

Fear is not a good teacher. The lessons of fear are quickly forgotten.

Human beings do not eat nutrients, they eat food.

The timing of death, like the ending of a story, gives a changed meaning to what preceded it.