You are a beautiful person, Doctor. Clear-headed. Strong. But you seem always to be dragging your heart along the ground. From now on, little by little, you must prepare yourself to face death. If you devote all your future energy to living, you will not be able to die well. You must begin to shift gears, a little at a time. Living and dying are, in a sense, of equal value.

Haruki Murakami, after the quake (Vintage, 2002)