You realize that these accidental decisions you make about changing jobs, about moving into an apartment where you make new friends and confidants, about going to one city over another, that sometimes they're completely arbitrary decisions that you haven't put as much thought into as perhaps you should have, and yet they change the course of your whole life.

You're like a cake when you're young. You can't rush it or it will fall, or just turn out wrong. Rising takes patience, and heat.

When I write a novel, I have what I think of as an icon that helps get me into the world of the book.

A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.

We almost manage to forget that things happen that we don't anticipate.

You realize that especially when you're writing a book like this, looking back on your life, that there's just such a depth of understanding you acquire over time with the help of the people who love you that that's when you can really get down to what you really think and believe.

I think that we really fool ourselves about our ability to be safe and secure nowadays.