When you make friends with fear, it can’t rule you.

... the reason life works at all is that not everyone in your tribe is nuts on the same day. [pp. 65-66]

My parents, and librarians along the way, taught me about the space between words; about the margins, where so many juicy moments of life and spirit and friendship could be found. In a library, you could find miracles and truth and you might find something that would make you laugh so hard that you get shushed, in the friendliest way.

A big heart is both a clunky and a delicate thing; it doesn't protect itself and it doesn't hide. It stands out, like a baby's fontanel, where you can see the soul pulse through.

I was raised by my parents to believe that you had a moral obligation to try and help save the world.

I was raised by my parents to believe that you had a moral obligation to try and save the world. You sent money to the Red Cross, you registered people to vote, you marched in rallies, stood in vigils, picked up litter.

Write regularly, whether you feel like writing or not, and whether you think what you're writing is any good or not.