“I would probably have to say that reading fiction those stories fill the space that other people might use religious stories for. The bulk of what I know about human life Ive gotten from novels. A...”

“Quite a metaphor. The person in the most pain wins. Does that mean I get a Blue Ribbon?”

“Laurie herself was more focused on the years when her kids were little, when she felt so necessary and purposeful, a battery all charged up with love. Every day she used it up and every night it go...”

“When I was writing 'The Abstinence Teacher,' I really tried to immerse myself in contemporary American evangelical culture.”

“I don't really distinguish between sympathy and honesty when I'm writing. The two go together - I'm interested in inhabiting my characters, seeing the world through their eyes.”

“Eve still marveled on a daily basis at the speed with which her own life had changed. A year ago, she'd been lost and flailing, and now she was found. She wanted to call it a miracle, but it was si...”

“Our labour preserves us from three great evils -- weariness, vice, and want.”

“Doing nothing is the hardest torture that a person can put himself through. For he is always brought face to face with his own self, which demands that he gives account for the sun which he useless...”

“We just philosophize, complain of boredom, or drink vodka. It's so clear, you see, that if we're to begin living in the present, we must first of all redeem our past and then be done with it foreve...”

“Before, singing was my life, my vocal chords used to lead the way. Now, I'm in-charge.”

“Error is indeed our enemy, but it alone points to the truth and therefore deserves our respectful treatment.”

“It is obvious that the concept of truth has become suspect. Of course it is correct that is has been much abused. Intolerance and cruelty have occurred in the name of truth. To that extent people a...”

“Tolerance cannot seduce the young.”