Some people won't go the extra mile, and then on their birthday, when no one makes a fuss, they feel neglected and bitter.

There are moments when I am writing when I think that if other people knew how I felt right now, they’d burn me at the stake for feeling so good, so full, so much intense pleasure.

... one of the immutable laws of being human is that the people who show up are the right people. [p. 65]

I went to church with my grandparents sometimes and I loved it.

Whenever the world throws rose petals at you, which thrill and seduce the ego, beware.

My mother was a not-too-devoted atheist. She went to Episcopal church on Christmas Eve every year, and that was mostly it.

Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere. Start by getting something—anything—down on paper. What I’ve learned to do when I sit down to work on a shitty first draft is to quiet the voices in my head.