Vanessa Woods: "All these precious traits..."

"All these precious traits we cling to as uniquely ours - empathy, altruism, morality - they have to come from somewhere.  They didn't just appear... Evolution is a journey.  One tiny change links to the next."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "All of us are..."

"All of us are capable of these small acts of kindness that occasionally lead to the heroic acts of people..."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "If there is one..."

"If there is one thing I have learned from Congo, it is this:  If there are those you love, whoever or wherever they are, hold them.  Find them and hold them as tightly as you can.  Resist their squirming and impatience and uncomfortable laughter and just feel their hearts throbbing against yours and give thanks that for this moment, for this one precious moment, they are here."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "We may not be..."

"We may not be perfect, but we are perfect for each other.  The Chinese say that love is balance."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "We are who we..."

"We are who we are, but our circumstances shape us.  It is never nature versus nurture.  It is always nature and nurture."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "We do terrible things..."

"We do terrible things to the ones we love.  We cheat and lie and betray them, for thirty pieces of silver or our own selfish hearts.  The only way love endures is because of one simple gift.  Forgiveness."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "Ask any scientists and..."

"Ask any scientists and most would agree that what makes us human is altruism - helping an unrelated individual at a cost to yourself."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "Ignorance is not an..."

"Ignorance is not an excuse forever."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "There are certain things..."

There are certain things you need to feel human.  Enough to eat, a place to sleep, somewhere to go to the toilet.  We had none of those things."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "Chimpanzees are not evil..."

"Chimpanzees are not evil.  They are capable of kindness, love, and grief.  In fact, they are very similar to us.  Chimpanzee violence occurs in the same context as human violence: over females, enemy males, and territory."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "It is joy and..."

"It is joy and hope and love and light.
It is the perfect end and a perfect beginning.
It is truly the happiest day of my life."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "I didn't know the..."

"I didn't know the cost of falling in love with a man and his dream."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake

Vanessa Woods: "Each day of our..."

"Each day of our life is a miracle, from the cars that drive us to the computers on our desks to the buildings we sit in."

—Vanessa Woods, Bonobo Handshake