The lessons taught in great books are misleading. The commerce in life is rarely so simple and never so just.

Accountability in friendship is the equivalent of love without strategy.

The evening passes somehow; I watch television with Nancy, or I write. It is difficult, not having a family, and it is difficult to explain. I always go to bed early. And I am always ready for Monday morning, that time that other people dread.

You never know what you will learn till you start writing. Then you discover truths you never knew existed.

You have no idea how promising the world begins to look once you have decided to have it all for yourself. And how much healthier your decisions are once they become entirely selfish.

A complete woman is probably not a very admirable creature. She is manipulative, uses other people to get her own way, and works within whatever system she is in.

Writing has freed me from the despair of living.