Run Away

by Harlan Coben

Pooh-pooh it all you want. Money may not buy happiness, but…well, nonsense. Money, pretty much more than

anything else you might be able to control, can conjure up and elevate that elusive ideal we call happiness. Money eases stress. It provides better education, better food, better doctors—some level of peace of mind. Money provides comfort and freedom. Money buys you experiences and conveniences and most of all, money buys you time, which, Simon had realized, was right up there with family and health.

He loved her. She loved him. Simple but there you have it. You both have careers and you raise kids and there are victories and defeats and you just sort of coast along, living your life, the days

long, the years short, and then every once in a while, you remember to pull up and look at your partner, your life partner, really look at the one who travels down the lonely road right by your side, and you realize how much you are in this together.

part of the human condition is that all decent people think they are phonies and don’t belong at some point or another.

God, grant me the SERENITY to accept the things I cannot change, The COURAGE to change the things I can, The WISDOM to know the difference.

“Let me see if I can recap: A celestial baby boy, who was his own father, was born to a married virgin. Then the baby’s father—who was also him—tortured and killed him. Oh, but then he came back from the dead like a zombie, but if you eat his flesh, which is a wafer, and drink his wine blood and promise to kiss his ass, he will suck all the evil out of you—”

LOVE YOUR PARENTS. WE ARE SO BUSY GROWING UP, WE OFTEN FORGET THEY ARE GROWING OLD.

“Most religious people don’t believe the dogma, Ash. We take from it what we want, we discard what we don’t. We form whatever narrative we like—kind God, vengeful God, active God, laid-back God, whatever. We just make sure we get something out of it. Maybe we get life everlasting while people we resent burn for eternity. Maybe we get something more concrete—money, a job, friends.

You just change the narrative.”

The richer and denser the memory of an event—for example, during moments when you are terrified—the longer you perceive that event

lasted. This phenomenon also explains why time seems to go faster as you age. When you’re a child, experiences are new and so your memories are fresh and intense—so again time seems to slow down. As you grow older, especially when you are stuck in a routine, very few new or vibrant memories are being laid and so time flies by. That’s why when a child looks back on summer, it seemed to last forever. For adults, it’s barely a blink.

Because demons never die.

But neither do secrets.