Smoking had become my favorite thing in the world to do. It was like having instant comfort, no matter where or when.

Other people sound flat to my ear; their words just hang in the air. But when my mother says something, the ends curl.

The most important thing for a writer to do is to write. It really doesn't matter what you write as long as you are able to write fluidly, very quickly, very effortlessly. It needs to become not second nature but really first nature to you. And read; you need to read and you need to read excellent books and then some bad books. Not as many bad books, but some bad books, so that you can see what both look like and why both are what they are.

Everybody in recovery smokes. If you don't like smoking, don't even bother trying to get sober. Just stay drunk.

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

It turned out I had always been a smoker. I just hadn't had any cigarettes.

I can't tell you how much I love Target and Costco, that kind of culture, because it's something I never felt a part of. I've always felt like a tourist because I have never fit in anywhere.