Quotes in italics appear in the book, but are attributed to someone other than the author.

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that's all." —Oscar Wilde (1)

"I don't want to spend my last day wondering if people are being genuine when they throw sad words at me. No one should spend their last hours second-guessing people." (10)

"I'm not naive about dying. I know it's going to happen. But I don't have to rush into it. I'm buying myself more time. A longer life is all I've ever wanted, and I have the power to not shoot that dream in the foot by walking out that front door, especially this late at night." (25)

"... living for everyone is a promise to the world." (42)

"anyone can have pretty eyes, but only the right kind of person can hum the alphabet and make it your new favorite beat." (70)

"A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for." —John A. Shedd (81)

"I was raised to be honest, but the truth can be complicated. It doesn't matter if the truth won't make a mess, sometimes the words don't come out until you're alone. Even that's not guaranteed. Sometimes the truth is a secret you're keeping from yourself because living a lie is easier." (118)

"I Just don't think I should be the judge of who actually needs my help or not, like they should do a dance or sing me a song to prove they're worthy. Asking for help when you need it should be enough." (124)

"You shouldn't donate to charity, help the elderly cross the street, or rescue puppies in the hopes you'll be repaid later. I may not be able to cure cancer or end world hunger, but small kindnesses go a long way." (126)

"... it's okay to give in to your emotions, but you should fight your way out of the bad ones, too." (131)

"I am doing this to myself. I'm holding myself back. I've spent years living safely to secure a longer life, and look where that's gotten me. I'm at the finish line, but I never ran the race." (136)

"I think my best friend glows even brighter because she's been through a change, an evolution that many can't handle." (150)

"Yes, we live, or we're given the chance to, at least, but sometimes living is hard and complicated because of fear." (150)

"We never act... only react once we realize the clock is ticking." (194)

"... I realize what I'm building— a sanctuary. It reminds me of home, the place where I hid from exhilaration, but I recognize the other side of the coin too, and know my home kept me alive as long as it did. Not only alive, but happy too. Home isn't to blame." (205)

"It is not death that a man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live" —Marcus Aurelius (225)

"... the most important goodbye is the one I said to Past Mateo, who I left behind at home when my Last Friend accompanied me into a world that has it out for us." (227)

"... love is a superpower we all have, but it's not always a superpower I'd be able to control. Especially as I get older. Sometimes it'll go crazy and I shouldn't be scared if my power hits someone I'm not expecting it to." (239)

"There has to be more to life than imagining a future for yourself. I can't just wish for the future; I have to take risks to create it." (266)

"A new memory to laugh over is just as good as reflecting on an old one, I think. It may even be better." (273)

"No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new." —Steve Jobs (299)

"My friends stand behind me as I pull open the door and walk into a world where I immediately regret not having spent every minute possible. There are strobe lights, flashing blues, yellows, and grays. The graffiti on the walls was marked by Deckers and their friends, sometimes the last pieces of themselves the Deckers have left behind, something that immortalizes them. No matter when it happens, we all have our endings. No one goes on, but what we leave behind keeps us alive for someone else. And I look at this crowed room of people, Deckers and friends, and they are all living." (302-303)

"This loaded question is the real reason I didn't want anyone to know I was dying. There are questions I can't answer. I cannot tell you how you will survive without me. I cannot tell you how to mourn me. I cannot convince you to not feel guilty if you forget the anniversary of my death, or if you realize days or weeks or days or months have gone by without thinking of me.

I just want you to live." (322-323)

"My Last Message would be to find your people. And to treat each day like a lifetime." (330)

"The death of their friend, however it unfolds, will stay with them forever. Entire lives aren't lessons, but there are lessons in lives.

You may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. Some you'll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth every risk." (334)

"I only care about the endings we lived through today. Like how I stopped being someone afraid of the world and the people in it." (345)

"Maybe it's better to have gotten it right and been happy for one day instead of living a lifetime of wrongs." (345)