I always thought the name of Utah’s major newspaper was some sort of weird misspelling of the word “desert.” But no, Deseret is the “land of the honeybee,” according to the Book of Mormon. I guess I should have figured they would have caught a typo in the masthead after 154 years.

I grew up in a very secular home with no religion at all, so I was starting from zero.

I’d recommend learning to accept rejection. Become friends with rejection. Be nice to rejection, because it’s a huge part of being a writer, no matter where you are in your career.

I don't believe that prayers actually change God's mind - if there is a God - but I liked praying for people in need. It was like moral weightlifting. I tend to be self-obsessed, and it was nice to get out of my brain once in a while.

I've never before been so aware of the thousands of little good things, the thousands of things that go right every day.

Sometimes miracles occur only when you jump in.

I was what they call 'skinny fat' - a body that resembled a python after swallowing a goat.