I was late to understand that chaos and intensity are no subsitute for lasting love, nor are they necessarily an improvement on real life. Normal people are not always boring. On the contrary. Volatility and passion, although often more romantic and enticing, are not intrinsically preferable to a steadiness of experience and feeling about another person.

An Unquiet Mind: Picador Classic (ed. Pan Macmillan, 2014) - ISBN: 9781447275299