Do what you want, do what you will, do what you have to, do what you think you cannot.

I wrote to find beauty and purpose, to know that love is possible and lasting and real.... Once I got to my desk, once I started writing, I still believed anything was possible.

Sometimes, running away means you're headed in the exact right direction.

I'm much faster now. When you only have a certain amount of time to write, after a while you learn to use your time well or you stop writing

Sometimes they would sit in the parlor together, both reading – in entirely separate worlds, to be sure, but joined somehow. When this happened, other people in the family couldn't bring themselves to disturb them. All that could be heard in the parlor was the sound of pages, turning.

Among men and women, those in love do not always announce themselves with declarations and vows. But they are the ones who weep when you're gone. Who miss you every single night, especially when the sky is so deep and beautiful, and the ground so very cold.

A boy who is trouble is something entirely different as a man.