“He often said he’d died in the war, just for a moment; that his soul had left his body like a silk handkerchief, slipping out and levitating over his chest.  It had returned without being called back, and I often wondered if writing for him was a way of knowing his soul was there after all, back in its place.”
– Paula McLain, “The Paris Wife”

“It’s hard for guys my age to grasp that nobody lives forever.  Dying is just a word until you find out differently.  That’s trite but horribly true.  The first few times you almost get nicked you take it for granted you are almost immortal.  The next few times you begin to wonder.  After that you start looking over your shoulder to make sure old Lady Luck is still around.”
– Farley Mowat, WWII soldier