“When we strike a balance between the challenge of an activity and our skill at performing it, when the rhythm of the work itself feels in sync with our pulse, when we know that what we're doing mat...”

“That kind of thinking [that writers must alleviate their guilt for leading a creative life] is based on the idea that the creative life is somehow self-indulgent. Artists and writers have to unders...”

“It is a great paradox and a great injustice that writers write because we fear death and want to leave something indestructible in our wake and, at the same time, are drawn to all the things that k...”

“It's a great paradox and a great injustice that writers write because we fear death and want to leave something indestructable in our wake, and at the same time, are drawn to things that kill: whis...”

“Your heart is the size of your fist; keep loving, keep fighting.”

“No one ever does the last thing on their list.”

“It was words and reading that had made me quiet, and being quiet had made me a mark.”

“Life isn't about just talking, it's about thinking too.”

“The trick for introverts is to honor their styles instead of allowing themselves to be swept up by prevailing norms.”

“The constant reprimands made me hyperconscious of my own performance, and so instead of getting rid of self, I had become embedded in the egoism I was supposed to transcend. Now I was beginning to ...”

“Silence is the mother of truth.”

“Silence is a powerful tool.”

“I am not what I think I am, and I am not what you think I am. I am what I think you think I am.”