favorite quote and why

Consider this quote:

"Sacrifice, you made one. I made one. We all make them. But you are angry over yours. You kept thinking about what you lost… You didn’t get it. Sacrifice is a part of life. (the Captain, pg. 93)

Each of Eddie's five encounters follows the same pattern. The individual that Eddie is slated to meet reveals him or herself to him, explains why they are connected, and then allows Eddie to see a tragedy in his life in a new, positive way. The Captain is only the second person Eddie meets in Heaven, but he addresses one of the darkest and most painful periods in Eddie's life: the war. Eddie is angry at the Captain when he learns that the Captain shot him to keep him from going into a burning tent. However, as the Captain explains in the above quote, Eddie is still holding on to his opinion that his own life was meaningless. He will learn over the course of the novel that without the Captain's sacrifice to save Eddie's life or Eddie's sacrifice of his knee, Eddie would not have been at Ruby Pier to keep all those children safe. Sacrifice is one of the most essential themes in the book, and one that Albom ascribes closely to the inherent importance of one's life. Eddie forgives his father once he learns that the old man sacrificed his life to save an old friend. Additionally, Eddie keeps asking everyone if "Amy or Annie" lived, betraying his belief that only a successful act of sacrifice would give his life meaning.