I love to both give and receive very old books.

This is how you survive the unsurvivable, this is how you lose that which you cannot bear to lose, this is how you reinvent yourself, overcome your abusers, fulfill your ambitions and meet the love of your life: by following what is true, no matter where it leads you.

What police officer would dare ticket Death's minivan?

My parents had this relationship that was really terrifying. I mean, the level of hatred that they had, and the level of physical abuse - my mother would beat up my father, basically - and I think I was drawn to images on television that were bright and reflective.

Truthfulness itself is almost medication, even when it’s served without advice or insight.

Once I decided to write, to be published, I knew it would happen.

I did not consider him to be any kind of a genius. I considered him deeply lacking in the area that mattered most in life. Star quality.