“My father was one of those men who sit in a room and you can feel it: the simmer, the sense of some unpredictable force that might, at any moment, break loose, and do something terrible. [Burnside,...”

“As I child, I came to this idea with a horrified fascination. Once upon a time, I wasnt here. Before that, my parents werent here. And before that”

“If you had to lose everything, what would you miss most? It wouldn't be anything gross, like the big house, or the fancy car, assuming you had such things. It wouldn't be your impeccable reputation...”

“All you have to do is choose the right day, the right weather, and you come upon a hidden place in the morning light where time stopped long before you were born”

“There are days when that dark face is something I can think of as a friend a primal energy that carries me forward when nothing else will but more often than not I am face-to-face with a stranger...”

“Everything stayed hidden [] it was all secret known by anyone who cared to know, but unacknowledged, like a priests feverish brightness around adolescent boys, or the beatings Mrs Wilson endured o...”

“Its hard to stay up. Its been a long long dayAnd you've got the sandman at your door. But hang on, leave the TV on and lets do it anyway.Its ok. You can always sleep through work tomorrow. Ok?Hey, ...”

“The waters of the stream played the part of the orchestra, and the sunlight provided the dancers. Every now and then a crescendo of wind highlighted the symphony in the clearing by the creek.”

“Dont get stressed over the little things and make sure you live life to the fullest.”