I could always walk out on a husband. But I could never turn my back on a friend. - Susan Howatch

Romance is the opiate of the dissatisfied, it anaesthesises them from the pain of their disordered second-rate lives [...] If romance is the opiate of the dissatisfied then surely nostalgia is the opiate of the disillusioned, for those who see all their dreams come true and find themselves living in a nightmare.

Again, be patient. And have courage. Remember, everything passes, even the most unspeakable horrors.

Sexual desire has to be dead as a doornail before a man and a woman can be genuinely at peace in a platonic relationship.