To refrain from storytelling is perhaps one of the highest forms of respect we can pay. Those people, with no stories to circle them, can die without being misunderstood.

Spelling is a way to make words safe, at least for now, until another technology appears to soften attacks launched from the mouth.

In certain strains of Judaism, there's a profound passion for the ineffable. Contemplation of God is meant to be forever elusive, because, you know, our tiny minds can't possibly comprehend Him. If we find ourselves comprehending Him, then we can be sure we're off track.

Without sound, celebration and grief look nearly the same.

My parents showed me by example that they could balance their work and family lives.

It's lonely to listen to the pleasure of others, not that I've made a habit of that kind of eavesdropping. There's joy and passion in the next room, in the next bed, but it's not yours.

Fiction becomes a place where I face certain fears such as losing language or losing my children.