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P67-68: "The real problems germinate in self-centered heart attitudes. Second, it blamed standards..The farther we distance ourselves from a God who gives ultimate value, the worse the personal degradation."

P57: I was actually asking if this boy was "qualified" to become my son. I suddenly comprehended that the infant lying there before me was a magnificent human being, regardless of any flaws or disadvantages. He was the creation of God, who had given him an immortal soul, yet there I stood demanding a perfect child who could become a personal credit to me."

P53: When the birth of a firstborn is imminent, parents pray for a normal baby—that is, "average." But from that moment on, average will not be good enough.

P51: "Intensely aware of their inability to compete in the flirtatious game.. if beauty represents the necessary currency, the gold coin of worth, they are undeniably bankrupt. Sadly, the most vulnerable victims of this foolish measure if human worth are little children who are to young to understand"

P49: "Tremendous emphasis on physical attractiveness is a by-product of the sexual revolution. When sex becomes all-important, obviously sex appeal and charm take on added social significance.. reward[ing] beauty and punishing ugliness."

P48: "The building of self-esteem in your child is one responsibility that cannot be delegated. The task is too difficult and too personal to be handled in group situations.. With few exceptions, our materialistic society is not going to reinforce healthy self-concepts in your children."

P29: "After Danae's head-on collision with the table temporarily distorting the shape of her mouth..People were not trying to be mean, they simply did not find her attractive any longer..it revealed the injustice in our value system. How unfair, it seemed, to reward a child for something that had not been earned or to destroy another child for circumstances beyond control."

P22: "Adults continue to try to cope with the legacy of inferiority feelings..Their wrinkles, backaches, and dentures are scorned. Their ideas are out-of-date. Their continued existence is a burden..I am convinced that sentily and mental deterioration at the latter end of life often results from the growing awareness by the aged that they live in the exclusive world of the young."

P21: A farmer found a beautiful eagle..on his property. One of its legs had been caught in a steel trap. Despite that weight and its pain..it had flown many miles, but now it was exhausted. Low self-esteem is like that. You can fly with it for a while, but it weighs you down. And unless you, or someone else, can find a way to deal with it—to remove the trap—it will ground you and possibly lead to your destruction.

P13-14: “Coach McKay was saying, in effect, that John’s football talent is recognized and appreciated, but his human worth does not depend on his ability to play football. Thus, his son would not lose respect if the next season brought failure and disappointment. John’s place in his dad’s heart was secure, independent of his performance.”