“A deus ex machina will never appear in real life so you best make other arrangements.”

“Well, everyone and their grandmother knows she's stillbanging Charles after all these years ""Like a screen in a tornado. Sure.”

“Well, it doesn't look good. Makes me look like one of those unloved latchkey children they make after-school specials about.""Don't sell yourself short. You're more Masterpiece Theatre.”

“Well, life isn't a cakewalk, is it?! Eighty-nine percent of the world's most valuable art was created by men living in rat-infested flats. You think Velsquez wore Adidas? You think he enjoyed the l...”

“How scary and sudden the shift from Living to Dead.”

“Books give us new lives, loves, and the feeling we aren't alone.”

“I am a person before I am anything else. I never say I am a writer. I never say I am an artist...I am a person who does those things.”

“The point, I decided, wasn't to have the autobiography or even the memories. The point was who I became when I wrote.”

“The willingness to reach inside every part of yourself opens the door to total understanding. You place your entire identity on the line, not just an isolated part. This may sound daunting, but act...”