And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.

Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself and it's a gift of giving a story to someone.

I didn't fear failure. I expected failure.

Among writers, if you don't have a therapist, it's like saying you don't keep a journal or use the thesaurus. It's a natural accompaniment.

She would be quiet at first. Then she would say a word about something small, something she had noticed, and then another word, and another, each one flung out like a little piece of sand, one from this direction, another form behind, more and more, until his looks, his character, his soul would have eroded away . . . I was afraid that some unseen speck of truth would fly into my eye, blur what I was seeing and transform him from the divine man I thought he was into someone quite mundane, mortally wounded with tiresome habits and irritating imperfections.

And now I also see what part of me is Chinese. It is so obvious. It is my family. It is in our blood.

I was punched breathless by the strongest emotions I have ever felt and they are now stored in my intuition as a writer.