The Bravest Thing:

What's the bravest thing you ever did?

He spat in the road a bloody phlegm. Getting up this morning, he said. 

― Cormac McCarthy, The Road

If you're not familiar with The Road, it's about a father trying to keep his little boy alive after an apocalyptic event. Ash covers everything and blots out most of the sun. The father-son duo are on the road, traveling south towards the coast where the weather will be warmer.

Many families committed suicide, as did the boy's mother. She couldn't deal with the world as it it. So getting up every morning really was an act of bravery.

The boy is the father's reason for living. As Nietzsche wrote, those with a big enough why, can take almost any how.