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
