I find this in my diary, written twenty and more years ago: People say of death, ‘There’s nothing to be frightened of.’ They say it quickly, casually. Now let’s say it again, slowly, with re-emphasis. ‘There’s NOTHING to be frightened of. Jules Renard. “The word that is most true, most exact, most filled with meaning, is the word “nothing”.
— Julian Barnes, Nothing to Be Frightened Of
