Table of Contents

Introduction xi

1 It is dying that makes life important 1

2 Fear is the death of reason 15

3 Matters of the heart (or of state) that begin with a lie rarely end well 21

4 You have never suffered enough 30

5 Sometimes courage is hoping against hope 38

6 Old age is the revenge of the ugly 48

7 In life beyond high school, no one gives you credit for effort 54

8 Fear lurks behind perfectionism 61

9 Courage is not a feeling; it is habit 68

10 Beware of ideas on which we all agree 74

11 There is no humor in heaven 81

12 Determination in the pursuit of folly is the indulgence of fools 87

13 Courage can be taught only by example 95

14 Nothing prepares us for the terrible risk of intimacy 101

15 Life is not a rehearsal 108

16 Courage is like love; it must have hope to nourish it 115

17 Punishment and revenge are the favored responses of fearful people 121

18 Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage 125

19 Cowardice is the incapacity to love anything but oneself 131

20 Honesty is a prerequisite for courage 136

21 Fear springs from ignorance 142

22 It is pointless to fear the past 149

23 There are wounds that doctors cannot reach, that gratitude cannot heal 155

24 Courage is required to bear the unbearable 159

25 Ignorance can be remedied; stupidity has no cure 163

26 Heroism is sometimes stubbornness in the face of adversity 167

27 Life is not a spectator sport 173

28 One of the greatest risks is to be honest with ourselves 178

29 At the heart of anger is sadness 183

30 The quest for courage is a journey within 190

Acknowledgments 199