I wanted to eat her pain, take it into me and make it my own.

To say it was a beautiful day would not begin to explain it. It was that day when the end of summer intersects perfectly with the start of fall .... [p.218 ff.]

I decided to make my living as a magazine writer. And I found that it was really easy and fun.

I know that there are people out there who believe we should get rid of all guns.

When well told, a story captured the subtle movement of change. If a novel was a map of a country, a story was the bright silver pin that marked the crossroads.

I don't believe in fate, as in, which I - as a Catholic, I think, sort of predestination. But I certainly believe in chance.

When I wrote nonfiction, my best work was the really personal stuff.