In a very real sense, Madeleine L'Engle helped raise me. She taught me about faith in God and the benevolence of the universe. She taught me how to see the world around me with a clear, loving gaze. She introduced me to allegory and The Tempest and angels and Patrick's Rune and Athens and the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. I never met her, but I loved her like a member of my family, and I can't believe she's gone.

--

Charles Wallace had once again been contemplating the intricate model of the tesseract. He spoke softly to his sister. "Meg, no matter what happens, even if Dennys is right about her heart, remember that it was herself she placed, for the baby's sake, and yours, and Calvin's, and all of us--"

Meg looked at him questioningly.

Charles Wallace's eyes as he returned her gaze were the blue of light as it glances off a unicorn's horn, pure and clear and infinitely deep. "In this fateful hour, it was herself she placed between us and the powers of darkness."

~from A Swiftly Tilting Planet