Gail Sheehy

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter into another! ”

To be tested is good. The challenged life may be the best therapist. ”

In the case of my husband, we found that facing a life-threatening illness prodded us to make a dramatic change in our lives. ”

If you're the person living closest to the parent who's going to need help, and you take on the whole role of primary caregiver, you can be pretty sure your sibling who lives farthest away is going to call you and say, 'You don't know what you're doing.' Because they're not on the spot, and they probably feel guilty. ”

Family caregiving has become a predictable crisis. Americans are living longer and longer but dying slower and slower. ”

If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living. ”

I know I'm never going to probably see the Taj Mahal or, you know, climb Mt. Everest, but I can still maybe influence peoples' way of thinking by a story that I do, by something I learn about the world. ”

I found that female pathfinders generally integrate characteristics commonly associated with being women - like the capacity to be intimate - with 'male' ones like ambition and courage. ”

The secret of a leader lies in the tests he has faced over the whole course of his life and the habit of action he develops in meeting those tests. ”

In rough times, pathfinders rely on work, friends, humor and prayer. They develop a support network. ”