“She is a soldier. She will not be defeated.”

“I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, 'Where’s the self-help section?' She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.”

“She was struggling, as she always had struggled, not to show what she could do but to hide what she couldn't do. A life made up of advances that were actually frantic retreats and victories that were concealed defeats.”

“She saw in his eyes defeat of her wild dreams, her mad desires.”

“Nothing was easy, and sometimes she failed, and sometimes she thought that the fairy stories were right, that there must indeed be easier ways of living happily ever after; but defeat is a poor ending to any tale, so she kept trying.”

“I survive all those battles," she growled, "and I get defeated by a stupid chunk of rock!”

“Thank you," she whispered, "for keeping yourself alive, soldier."
"You're welcome," he whispered back.”

“She was the living, breathing proof that the hard things in life didn't have to defeat you - or even define you.”

“When Tatiana looked up from her ice cream, she saw a soldier staring at her from across the street.”

“I don't like it, papa," she said. "But then I dare say soldiers - even brave ones - don't reallygoing into battle.”