“I tell you I'm tired of hearing it. There ain't nothing that happens to a person that ain't that person. The world out there only does what you tell it to do. The world is happening to you the way ...”

“Looking for who I am is who I am.”

“With tybo men there isn't much difference between fucking and killing.”

“A person without her or his own truth ain't a person at all, Ida said. Anybody who tells you differentis a jackass, and no longer deserves to be called human being.”

“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...”