“Have some fun while you wait for the will of heaven.”

“That's when you stop being one way and start being another, Ruby said. Not something many people can do, or want to do. In fact, Ruby said, The only people who cross over, cross over because they'r...”

“Books are in the mind, Grandfather Alessandro said. Too many books and you forget your body is in the world.”

“There is nothing more lonely than a true artist.”

“Every time you hear a car alarm, Ruby said, another New Yorker has gone to hell.”

“God made man because he loves to hear stories, Alessandro said. That's a good story, huh?”

“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...”

“why are trying so hard to fit in, when you're born to stand out”

“It kills me how these days everyone has clinical justification for their strangeness.”

“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of who you are”