“You wake up in this here world, my sweet li'l mister, you got to wake up tough. You go out that front door tough of a mornin' and you stay tough 'til lights outhave you learned that?”

“The old man had been tanned by the light of too many beer signs, and it just goes to show that you cant live on three packs of Chesterfields and a fifth of bourbon a day without starting to drift f...”

“I think all regions have had their peculiarities of speech rounded off by television, radio, and people travel so much more now.”

“I guess it's ridiculously romantic, but I wanted to be a full tilt, sink-or-swim writer.”

“When poetry is on the money, 12 words can slay you. I admire that greatly.”

“I'm very attracted to poetry for all the reasons someone likes poetry. The notion of compression seems to fit my personality.”

“Inspirational quotes are only making you more miserable.”

“It was deeply a part of Lee's kindness and understanding that man's right to kill himself is inviolable, but sometimes a friend can make it unnecessary”

“The hardest thing about depression is that it is addictive. It begins to feel uncomfortable not to be depressed. You feel guilty for feeling happy.”

“I found power in accepting the truth of who I am. It may not be a truth that others can accept, but I cannot live any other way. How would it be to live a lie every minute of your life.”

“I call that man awake who, with conscious knowledge and understanding, can perceive the deep unreasoning powers in his soul, his whole innermost strength, desire and weakness, and knows how to reck...”

“Ask not of things to shed their veils. Unveil yourselves, and things will be unveiled.”