Quotes from Richard Paul Evans

Before you judge me too harshly, consider your own deepest fears - real or imagined. Actually, all fear is born of the imagination, which means that the danger we fear doesn't need to be rational or even real to be potent.

I'm a creative man so my fears are greater than most.

They're too busy building monuments to themselves.

You're not my boss, Alan." He returned to his game. Honestly, my first instinct was to smack the kid, but i doubted that would fly with his parents.

Beware the stranger offering gifts, as true for man as it is for fish

First, most people think the word prodigal means wayward or lost. It doesn't. Prodigal means lavish or wastefully extravagant. It's like spending money recklessly. It also means to give on a lavish scale. So, in the case of the prodigal son story, you could argue that the father was prodigal since he gave his love freely, on a lavish scale. You might even say recklessly.

think one of the worst enemies of creativity is self-doubt.

The relationship between a patient and a counselor is a peculiar thing. I find myself wanting to act more sane to win her approval.

The thing is, the only real sign of life is growth. And growth requires pain. So to choose life is to accept pain. Some people go to such lengths to avoid pain that they give up on life. They bury their hearts, or they drug or drink themselves numb until they don't' feel anything anymore. The irony is, in the end their escape becomes more painful than what they're avoiding.

Sometimes the most profound experiences of our lives start with an act so simple and careless that we hardly think about it - like tossing a small stone that causes a massive avalanche.

No one marries expecting it to fail. And even when it's good, who knows how long it's going to last?

I've returned to my

If you love only those who give you happy news, you will never love those worthy of your trust.

We're all moons. Some are just better at hiding their dark sides.

All great men are delusional. How else could they be crazy enough to think they could change the world?

Someday you may be celebrated, but it might not be in your lifetime. Heroes are heroes precisely because they are willing to do what everyone else won't—oppose the popular voice.

New hopes are a fountain of energy.

We don't appreciate the things that come easy to us as much as we do the things we have to work for. I think that's true for love as well.

you can take the man out of the evil, but can you take the evil out of the man?

Simply stated, earth is a school-a divine educational process custom-fit to each of us.

As appreciative as I had already been for their kindness, now I was astounded. In the midst of such heartbreak, this good couple had reached out to me in my pain. For the first time in a long while, I felt hope in humanity.

There are people whom we've never met in person yet feel closer to than those we brush up against in real life.

Ostin smiled. "Tell me something I don't know. Oh, wait, you can't.

He had sensory processing disorder—something we didn't know about back then—and was highly sensitive to smells.