To exist in this vast universe for a speck of time is the great gift of life. Our tiny sliver of time is our gift of life. It is our only life. The universe will go on, indifferent to our brief existence, but while we are here we touch not just part of that vastness, but also the lives around us. Life is the gift each of us has been given. Each life is our own and no one else's. It is precious beyond all counting. It is the greatest value we can have. Cherish it for what it truly is..... Your life is yours alone. Rise up and live it.

Terry Goodkind (born in 1948) is an American writer and author of the epic fantasy The Sword of Truth series as well as the contemporary suspense novel The Law of Nines which has ties to his fantasy series and The Omen Machine which is a direct sequel thereof. Before his success as an author Goodkind worked primarily as a painter as well as doing carpentry and woodworking.

It was adapted into a television series called Legend of the Seeker; it premiered on November 1 2008 and ran for two seasons ending in May 2010. The Sword of Truth series sold twenty-five million copies worldwide and was translated into more than twenty languages. Before his success as an author Goodkind worked primarily as a painter as well as doing carpentry and woodworking.