And he would listen, making only a few comments, always sympathetic, so that when I left him I had the distinct impression he had solved everything for me.

When I'm writing, the darkness is always there. I go where the pain is.

No matter how long we exist, we have our memories. Points in time which time itself cannot erase. Suffering may distort my backward glances, but even to suffering, some memories will yield nothing of their beauty or their splendor. Rather they remain as hard as gems.

To learn and to love, that is what we are here for, any activity which is not grounded in one of these two is a waste of time.

I’d thought I knew what beauty was in women; but she’d surpassed all the language I had for it.

The NRA disgraced itself this morning with a self-serving press event in which they demonized the media and the entertainment industry for gun violence in America, and advocated a national data base for all mentally ill persons. They apparently want armed guards in all American schools, and it seems, armed volunteers as well. Shocking.

When I realized that Reuben was a young man who really wanted to be taken seriously, because he was dismissed for being too good looking or because he had too much money - his character really came to life for me. I began to understand that, and see that a lot of people feel this way - misunderstood because of their talents or gifts or background.