Brian Fullford

“Christopher Burney, the British officer who was held in Buchenwald and other German prison camps, was kept in solitary confinement for years during World War II. At first, he told himself he’d be out by Christmas. When Christmas passed, he hoped to be released by Easter. When that, too, passed and summer came, “I dismissed my old impatience from my mind,” he wrote in Solitary Confinement, “seeing such promise in the summer weather that no reservation, with its hidden pessimism, was now necessary…I could be patient for three more months.” That is the way a survivor thinks. When I was working in maximum-security prisons in the early 1980s, I remember one convict telling me, “I could do a nickel standing on my head.” When I asked how he did it, he said, “You got to stay inside yo’ mine.” That’s survivor thinking.”
― Laurence Gonzales, Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why

“Though Justin has breathed encouraging words into my ears ever since our initial climb up the Pyrenees, it hasn’t been his words that have pushed me as much as who he is. Every day, I have watched him embrace my help and the help of others, and those days have all led to this moment. By letting go of control and welcoming the strength of others to do what he cannot, Justin has been pushing me to let go of my need for control, to let go of comfort, to let go of safety, to let go of fear, and to embrace a life lived in faith, with others at my side.”
― Patrick Gray, I'll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends, and One Wheelchair

“For the apocalyptic mind, there isn’t a secular molecule in the universe, no matter outside the scope of its coming kingdom, no nook or cranny exempt from the redemption it announces. Neither Jesus nor any Jewish prophet ever instructed his listeners to merely repent “spiritually.”
― David Dark, Everyday Apocalypse: The Sacred Revealed in Radiohead, the Simpsons, and Other Pop Culture Icons

“While Jasper pushes, Patrick and I talk a great deal about the Basque man who affectionately slapped my cheek so many days ago. “A stranger in the middle of the Pyrenees has turned into a bit of a prophet.” “Yeah! I wonder if he will ever understand the power of his words?” Patrick muses. “I hope so, but do any of us ever know the power of our words?” “No, I guess not. That’s why we should make sure they are filled with hope.” It has been exactly one month since we heard the man shout, “The impossible is possible!” And we have seen more examples of this truth than we could ever imagine. Our journey has led Patrick and me over three mountain ranges, through days of self-exploration and discovery, and into the arms of strangers waiting to help us in ways we didn’t know we needed. What an experience.”
― Patrick Gray, I'll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends, and One Wheelchair