It's very important to distinguish between innocence and naivete. The innocent do not deserve to be the victims of violence. But only the naive refuse to think about the origins of violence and to pursue the possibility that the genesis of that hatred could be addressed.

Beginning a novel is always hard. It feels like going nowhere. I always have to write at least 100 pages that go into the trashcan before it finally begins to work. It's discouraging, but necessary to write those pages. I try to consider them pages -100 to zero of the novel.

Perhaps growing up meant we put our knives away and feigned ignorance of the damage.

Thanks for this day, for all birds safe in their nests, for whatever this is, for life.

Every time I step onto an airplane, I turn to the right and take a good, hard stare into the maw of the engine. I don't know what I'm looking for. I just do it.

I have my own sheep and I literally sheer the sheep and knot sweaters for friends and family from scratch.

Alice wonders if other women in the middle of the night have begun to resent their Formica.