"There is a diamond -- so clear, so transparent, unsullied by earthly matters and what matters not, which can only be apprehended by that which it reflects, a mirror without form. One that is cut so precisely, its edges are capable of rending mundane experience into ribbons, yielding the fleshy fruit that resides inside, yet remains unblemished. To look into any facet is to see unfolding phases of the moon, a kaleidoscope of change, of fabricated identifications. And the source of it all can be hunted by following the traces back to where they converge. So it is with the stories in my life, and in this book." -- Ross Ulysses Munroe