Arthur Golden

“We lead our lives like water flowing down a hill, going more or less in one direction until we splash into something that forces us to find a new course.”

“Adversity is like a strong wind. It tears away from us all but the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are.”

“The heart dies a slow death, shedding each hope like leaves until one day there are none. No hopes. Nothing remains.”

“Grief is a most peculiar thing; we’re so helpless in the face of it. It’s like a window that will simply open of its own accord. The room grows cold, and we can do nothing but shiver.”

“Whatever our struggles and triumphs, however we may suffer them, all too soon they bleed into a wash, just like watery ink on paper.”

“When a stone is dropped into a pond, the water continues quivering even after the stone has sunk to the bottom.”

“I had to wonder if men were so blinded by beauty that they would feel privileged to be cheated by it.”

“I don't think any of us can speak frankly about pain until we are no longer enduring it.”

“We can never say what is in our hearts. We can only hope that our actions will speak for us.”

“A mind plagued by doubt cannot focus on the course to victory.”

“At the temple there is a poem called 'Loss' carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it.”

“This is why dreams can be so dangerous. They smolder in us like embers, waiting for a breeze to fan them into a flame.”

“Remember, Sayuri, a geisha is not a prostitute. Nor is she a wife. We sell our skills, not our bodies. We create another world, a place of beauty.”

“Water is powerful. It can wash away earth, put out fire, and even destroy iron.”

“A geisha is a work of art.”