For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth. What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.

So Rita and I decided that the most subversive, revolutionary thing I could do was to show up for my life and not be ashamed.

It is a violation of trust to use your kids as caulking for the cracks in you.

I love silence. I seek and create it at every opportunity. I need it to work.

This is one thing they forget to mention in most child-rearing books, that at times you will just lose your mind. Period.

Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises.

The mix in our rooms is so touching: the clutter and the cracks in the wall belie a bleakness or brokenness in our lives; while photos and a few rare objects show our pride, our rare shining moments ... these rooms are future ruins